Beyond Western orthodoxy. Reclaiming complexity in historical materialism through the work of Jairus Banaji

Abstract

Jairus Banaji is widely regarded as one of the most innovative figures in historical materialism over the past three decades. The introductory essay traces his intellectual trajectory from his early years of political activism to his more recent, research-oriented work. In doing so, it outlines his principal research themes – paying particular attention to three of them: the analytical decoupling of relations of production from forms of exploitation, the concept of commercial capitalism, and the concept of the tributary mode of production. The guiding thread of the text lies in Banaji’s critique of overly abstract categories that continue to burden historical materialist inquiry and in his effort to restore a sense of complexity to this mode of inquiry.