Marxism and Postcolonial Theory: What’s Left of the Debate?

Abstract

This article provides an introduction to the special issue, ‘Marxism and Postcolonial Theory: What’s Left of the Debate?’ It casts a critical glance at the long history of engagements between Marxism and postcolonial theory that have been both collaborative and antagonistic. The authors argue that far from materializing the end of either postcolonial theory or of Marxist approaches, these exchanges have been productive and have underscored the continuing currency of both, pointing to ways that go beyond the impasse. The article also provides a critical overview of the debates within different disciplines and suggests new and creative ways of reconceptualizing Marxism and postcolonial theory for the current conjuncture.

Towards a Postcolonial Critical Realism

“…Chibber (2013) argues that by neglecting the extra-discursive reality of capitalism, postcolonial theory has “hollowed out” the critique that informed mid-century Tricontinentalism and the Non-Aligned Movement. Similarly, Third World Marxism (Alavi, 1982; Washbrook, 2007) and the Black Radical Tradition (James, 1996[1948]; Rodney, 1972) reject the claim that Marx’s own European standpoint taints an entire ideology and the political movements that stemmed from it (Sinha and Varma, 2017). Rather, their understandings of the nature of imperialism, and the mutual construction of race and capitalism, have enriched Marxist analyses of global capitalism.…”

(Post-)colonial Archipelagos

“…This recommendation is far from new (e.g., Mezzadra 2011b), but now it can be more fully developed. Until now, debates on the material or structural dimensions of postcolonial approaches have been predominated by Marxist critiques and proposals, signaling above all the fact that postcolonial approaches ignore capitalist structural restrictions (Dirlik 1994(Dirlik , 2002Chibber 2013; for a general overview, see Sinha and Varma 2017). In some cases, these reproaches are rejected on the basis that Marxist theory is itself Eurocentric, universalistic, or nationalist; in others, attempts are made to integrate Marxist categories and economic and political dimensions into postcolonial analyses (such as Pradella 2017; Sanyal 2007; for a general overview, see Bartolovich and Lazarus 2002).…”

The hospitable body at work—A research agenda

“…In line with this idea, I deploy an amalgamation of labor geography and feminist/post‐Marxist theories. My belief is that the universal claims and systematic critique of capitalism, and the post‐colonial emphasis on diversity and contingency, rather than being framed as adversaries, are better off in conversation with each other (Sinha & Varma, 2017).…”