Robert Brenner on political accumulation and the transition to capitalism

Ricardo Duchesne
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Ricardo Duchesne: University of New Brunswick, Saint John, P.O. Box 5050, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4L5, Canada, Tel.: + 1-506-648-5590; fax: + 1-506-648-5611.rduchesn@unbsj.ca

Review of Radical Political Economics, 2001, vol. 33, issue 1, 79-98

Abstract: This paper is an immanent critique of Robert Brenner's writings on the transition from feudalism to capitalism. The concept "immanent" is defined as a logic of implication, according to which a text or theory is evaluated within the terms that it sets for itself, to determine whether its objectives and assumptions are true in the way they are said to be true. Using this method of critique, the paper shows how Brenner's concept of "political accumulation" undermines his own initial claim that the balance of class forces between lords and peasants determined the long-term trends of preindustrial Europe, in that this concept points toward intralord struggles dominated by military interests. The paper also discusses why Brenner's account of France's tax/office state seriously weakens his postulate that "surplus extracting relations" were the "fundamental" relation of fuedalism, on the grounds that office-holding reflected an unequal distribution of property based upon status. Finally, the paper draws out the theoretical implications of these contradictory instances, to delineate ways in which Brenner's basic theory may be sublated within a more comprehensive account.

Keywords: Brenner; Political accumulation; Transition to capitalism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:33:y:2001:i:1:p:79-98

DOI: 10.1177/048661340103300104

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