Historicizing the Pre-conditions of Capitalism

The “Forms that Precede Capitalist Production” and the Problem of Social Synthesis

Abstract

This article proposes a reinterpretation of the section of the Grundrisse entitled “Forms that precede capitalist production.” The starting point discusses some classical interpretations that are exhausted in two contradictory positions: a positive knowledge about pre-capitalist history on the one hand, and a completely abstract conceptual formulation on the other. The hypothesis of this work is that the understanding of the “Forms...” section cannot be limited to either of these two positions, as both are necessary moments in Marx’s attempt to historicize the prerequisite of capitalism. These prerequisites consist fundamentally in the double movement of separation and reunification of individuals from their conditions of existence. Finally, the different historical modes (Asian despotism, Roman and Germanic modes) of this double movement will be understood as modalities of social synthesis.