Historical materialism

Historical materialism (or what Marx himself called "the materialist conception of history" - materialistischen Geschichtsauffassung) is a social theory and an approach to the study of history and sociology, normally considered as the intellectual basis of Marxism.

Marx and Wakefield

In Das Kapital, Marx took from Edward Gibbon Wakefield's work the example of an emigré to Australia, to illustrate the concept of relations of production:

Related Topics:
Das Kapital - Edward Gibbon Wakefield - Relations of production

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"...Wakefield discovered that in the Colonies, property in money, means of subsistence, machines, and other means of production, does not as yet stamp a man as a capitalist if there be wanting the correlative ? the wage-worker, the other man who is compelled to sell himself of his own free-will. He discovered that capital is not a thing, but a social relation between persons, established by the instrumentality of things. Mr. Peel, he moans, took with him from England to Swan River, West Australia, means of subsistence and of production to the amount of £50,000. Mr. Peel had the foresight to bring with him, besides, 3,000 persons of the working-class, men, women, and children. Once arrived at his destination, ?Mr. Peel was left without a servant to make his bed or fetch him water from the river.? Unhappy Mr. Peel who provided for everything except the export of English modes of production to Swan River!"

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The workers deserted Mr Peel, despite all his wealth, because land was available freely and there was no state, legislation or economic necessity compelling them to work for him - they were free to work on own account as they chose, because the English social relations binding them to the status of servants were absent.

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Source: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch33.htm Capital, vol. I, ch. 33, courtesy of www.marxists.org]

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