8 Orthodox Marxism versus Political Marxism

Abstract

This chapter addresses a recent challenge to political Marxism by the orthodox Marxist perspective, particularly the work of Neil Davidson. At the same time, given the tendency for historians to read Robert Brenner's thesis through the prism of orthodox Marxism, the contrast hopefully further illuminates Brenner's distinctive approach, and leads historians such as Steve Rigby to re-examine their preference for a pluralist approach over Brenner's class-centred thesis. The author addresses Davidson's scepticism as to how capitalism developed in England out of Brenner's feudal social-property relations. Robert Brenner has addressed the prominent role given by orthodox Marxists to 'bourgeois revolution' in the transition from feudalism to capitalism in England. Nevertheless orthodox Marxists generally cannot entertain or even acknowledge this argument, because they reject the empirical as well as the theoretical basis of a top-down origin of capitalism during its first break in England.Keywords: bourgeois revolution; capitalism; England; feudal social-property relations; Neil Davidson; orthodox Marxism; political Marxism; Robert Brenner; Steve Rigby