Abstract
Is the AMP compatible with the Marxist theory of history? Many scholars believe that the concept contradicts the claim of an overall social progress in historical materialism (O’Leary, 1989: 152–202). However, in this chapter I shall examine two claims which are said to have prevented the AMP from being a scientific concept. The first claim asserts that societies dominated by the AMP are permanently stagnant, while the second maintains that the concept of the AMP has a derogative connotation. Moreover, this so-called derogative connotation is said to be a reflection of Marx’s Eurocentrism. In the first section I shall seek to demonstrate that both social and economic relations in the AMP are in constant movement. The so-called stagnant character of the AMP should be understood in the context of a comparative study between different economic structures in history. Therefore, it is arbitrary to presume that an endogenous development of capitalism is a priori impossible from societies once dominated by the AMP. In the second section I shall contend that the charge of Eurocentrism against Marx is at best misleading. It derives from scholars’ failure to understand Marx’s methodological approach towards historical research between different societies. A brief review of Marx’s sophisticated attitude towards colonialism is an attempt to indicate that Marx’s remarks on nonEuropean societies are nothing but a logical extension of his critique of capitalism.
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© 1996 Li Jun
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Li, J. (1996). The Asiatic Mode of Production and the Marxist Theory of History. In: Chinese Civilization in the Making, 1766–221 BC. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25134-6_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25134-6_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-25136-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-25134-6
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