Modes of production, the world in which capitalism emerged and the assets on which it drew

Michael Dunford

Chapter 3 in Rethinking Uneven Development, 2026, pp 87-95 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter briefly outlines the world in, and alongside, which capitalism emerged. In their entanglements with capitalism, other civilisations and societies were transformed, and themselves shaped the development of capitalist cores. In spite of attempts by Western civilisation to impose its values and institutions on the rest of the world, much of the Global South and East retained a rich and varied cultural and architectural heritage. Values and ideas were passed on from one generation to the next, enabling them to reproduce aspects of their distinct identities. The world remains a world of multiple civilisations, and concrete pathways to the present vary widely. At a high level of abstraction, the evolution of this world is examined in the light of logical and historical accounts of the development of successive modes of production. The chapter also discusses the theory of Caudine Forks (and Marx's correspondence with Zasulich), which has been interpreted to suggest that China skipped a capitalist phase and moved directly to socialism. The existence of multiple civilisations combined with a reassertion of sovereignty opens the way to the possibility of a multipolar world and a community of common destiny for humankind.

Keywords: Modes of Production; Social Relations of Production; Civilisation State; Tributary State; Marx and Zasulich; Caudine Forks; Chinese Socialism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035352968
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