Transition from Feudalism to Capitalism – A Debate
Chapter – 14
Table of Contents
- The “transition debate” focuses on the decline of feudalism and the emergence of capitalism, along with the forces responsible for these changes, and the connection to the birth of the modern world.
- Within this debate, there are disagreements not only between Marxists and non-Marxists but also among Marxist scholars, resulting in various perspectives on the nature of feudalism, capitalism, and the causes of their transition.
- Maurice Dobb’s “inner-contradiction model” suggests that the decline of feudalism was due to internal contradictions within the feudal mode of production.
- Paul Sweezy, on the other hand, proposes the “market” or “commercial” model, arguing that the expansion of the commercial economy, related to trade, played a primary role in the decline of feudalism.
- A non-Marxist perspective emphasizes demographic factors in the decline of feudalism, led by scholars like H.J. Habakkuk, M.M. Postan, and Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, in the “Malthusian model” or “demographic model.”
- Robert Brenner’s explanation, resembling Dobb’s, emphasizes the significance of class relations in the transition to capitalism.
- The debate’s origins can be attributed to theoretical ambiguities in Karl Marx’s writings, where transition from feudalism to capitalism was not a central focus.
- The debate is also influenced by varying definitions of “feudalism” and “capitalism” and differing opinions on when “true” capitalism emerged, whether during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century or with the maturity of merchant capitalism during the 16th century.
- Marx’s contributions to the debate are multifaceted; he discusses the corrosive effect of mercantile activity and market expansion on feudal systems, as well as the transformation of producers into merchant capitalists and the commodification of labor as crucial elements in the transition to capitalism.
- Marx emphasizes the significance of social relations of production and the emergence of capitalism in Western Europe not before the 16th century, with its industrial form emerging later in the late 18th century.
- Marx’s explanations are more focused on establishing structural preconditions for capitalism than on detailing the mechanisms that created these preconditions.
Inner-Contradiction Model
- Maurice Dobb’s explanation for the decline of feudalism is grounded in the classical Marxist approach and is referred to as the “property-relations” or “inner-contradiction model.”
- Dobb identifies two key phases of transition from feudalism to capitalism: one based on serf-labor and the other on hired wage-labor, representing separate stages.
- He rejects earlier datings of the beginning of capitalism, such as Henri Pirenne’s 12th-century date, and instead places the emergence of capitalism in the late 16th and early 17th centuries when capital began to penetrate production on a significant scale.
- Dobb defines feudalism as a self-sufficient natural economy, where economic status and authority are linked to land tenure, and producers are obliged to provide labor or produce to their superiors under coercion.
- According to Dobb, the decline of feudalism was driven by the system’s inefficiency, low productivity, and inability to meet the material demands of the ruling class, especially with the need for increased revenue due to wars, social customs, and extravagant noble expenditures.
- The crisis in feudalism became apparent in the 14th and 15th centuries, leading to the fall in feudal income, shrinking demesne lands, and the pressure on producers becoming unbearable.
- Responses to the feudal crisis varied; in some regions, lords gave concessions to attract or retain labor, while elsewhere, feudal burdens were tightened.
- Dobb describes the period from the late 15th century to the Industrial Revolution as a transitional period characterized by the growth of capitalist elements within the feudal system.
- Eric Hobsbawm supports Dobb’s arguments, emphasizing that the transition was uneven and not straightforward, and the triumph of capitalism is seen through the Industrial, American, and French Revolutions.
- Rodney Hilton, aligned with Dobb’s “property-relations” perspective, explains that the growth and decay of feudalism were driven by factors operating within it, particularly the role of feudal rent.
- Hilton’s view is that the fundamental law of feudal society was the exploitation class’s drive to realize maximum rent from direct producers, creating a contradiction within the exploiting class itself.
- The members of the exploiting class competed to increase feudal rent, leading to a struggle for power and land control, igniting the crisis in which feudal rent played a central role.
- Kohachiro Takahashi strongly supports Dobb’s arguments, emphasizing the nature of social existence of labor power as a decisive factor in various modes of production.