Marx and the Concept of a Social Formation

Burns, Tony

Abstract

This paper discusses the significance of the concept of a social formation for historical materialism. It argues that the concept is wrongly thought to be associated uniquely with the writings of Louis Althusser and with structuralist Marxism. It can be found in the writings of Marx himself, as well as those of Lenin, and is central to an adequate understanding of classical Marxism. To illustrate its importance the paper shows how the concept may be used to shed new light on the debate around the transition from feudalism to capitalism.

Citation

Burns, T. (2024). Marx and the Concept of a Social Formation. Historical Materialism, 13(2), 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10032

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 19, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Jan 8, 2024
• Publication Date: Jan 8, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 21, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 8, 2024
• Journal: Historical Materialism
• Print ISSN: 1465-4466
• Electronic ISSN: 1569-206X
• Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 13
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 1-30
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1569206x-bja10032
• Keywords: Marxism – social formation – mode of production – historical materialism – materialist conception of history – transition debate
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5485931
• Publisher URL: https://brill.com/view/journals/hima/aop/article-10.1163-1569206x-bja10032/article-10.1163-1569206x-bja10032.xml