Stockholm, Sweden, October 28-30, 2022
Following the successful international conferences Marx13, Marx16 and Marx19, it is now time for Marx22, on the theme of “primitive accumulation”!
Why did capitalism emerge, and why does it persist? Marx argued that an understanding of capitalism’s blood-soaked prehistory is necessary if we want to understand and change the system. In the present era, when everything – from health care and water to our emotions and outer space – is rapidly transforming into commodities, it is more important than ever to think through the processes of capital accumulation.
For capitalism to exist at all, a class of people must be separated from the means of production and forced to sell their labor power in exchange for wages. But such a working class does not appear out of nothing – it must itself be created. The historical processes that gave rise to our modern class societies were accompanied, every step of the way, by violence and repression against those who resisted proletarianization and the plundering of the commons. Karl Marx called this process “primitive accumulation,” and he described capital coming into the world as “dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt.”
Within the Marxist tradition, the concept of “primitive accumulation” has been used in two different ways. First, the term has been used to delineate a historical period that provided the conditions for the capitalist mode of production to emerge. Second, “primitive accumulation” has been used to name the ongoing processes through which capital creates new markets, expands to new spheres of life, and reinvents itself by incorporating new resources.
Human trafficking, the commodification of water, and the grand plans of Silicon Valley moguls to colonize Mars are only a few examples of how our bodies, life-worlds, and surroundings are incorporated into capital’s process of accumulation. How can we understand these processes? And what can we do to limit and roll back the expansion of capital’s rule? www.cmsmarx.org/marx22 marxconf@cmsmarx.org
SUBMIT A CONTRIBUTION
In preparation for Marx22 we now call for papers as well as proposals for sessions and panels. We welcome suggestions from researchers, organizations, activists, and other concerned parties who want to help shed light on the main theme using theoretical tools and practical examples that connect to Marx or the broader Marxist tradition. We welcome historical perspectives on primitive accumulation as well as analyses of how similar processes of plunder continue today. Contributions may be theoretical or empirical, and focus on economic, social, political, cultural, ideological, or ecological concerns. Finally, we call for contributions that highlight progressive alternatives and visionary perspectives for a society beyond the rule of capital accumulation.
Proposals can be sent to us as collective arrangements, typically of minimum three involved individual contributors. You are free to suggest the form and content of the arrangement, that should last for 60–120 minutes. One possible form is an academic-style session, based on papers and individual presentations, followed by general discussion. It could also be organised as a workshop, a panel discussion, a round table, or any other form you find suitable. You will take the full responsibility to organise the arrangement, including recruitment and contacts with participants, as well as the actual implementation of the arrangement if the suggestion is accepted.
We ask you to send an abstract of 300–500 words, where the following should be included: title, suggestion for format, length, language (a Scandinavian language or English), as well as a general descriptive summary of content and theme: theoretical context and description of participants with brief description of their (if relevant) individual contributions.
Please send your abstracts no later than April 30, 2022 to: marxconf@cmsmarx.org. This applies to both sessions and individual papers."
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