Primitive accumulation - Philosophical Concept | Alexandria
Primitive accumulation, a concept shrouded in both economic theory and historical debate, describes the process by which precapitalist producers are divorced from their means of production, thereby creating a class of wage laborers and concentrating wealth in the hands of a nascent capitalist class. Sometimes misconstrued as simply the initial accumulation of capital, it is more accurately understood as a violent and transformative historical process, one that some view as an ongoing phenomenon.
The roots of the concept can be traced back to Adam Smith’s notion of “previous accumulation," examined in The Wealth of Nations (1776). However, it was Karl Marx, in Das Kapital (1867), who truly developed the theory of primitive accumulation. Marx saw it not as a peaceful process of saving and investment, but as one fraught with coercion, conquest, and exploitation. Consider the Enclosure Acts in England beginning in the 16th century, where common lands, traditionally used by peasants, were privatized, forcing many into wage labor. This historical backdrop reveals the contentious environment of early capitalism, far from the idealized narratives of free markets.
Over time, interpretations of primitive accumulation have evolved. Rosa Luxemburg, in The Accumulation of Capital (1913), argued that capitalism requires non-capitalist spaces to exploit and therefore primitive accumulation is not simply a historical stage but an ongoing characteristic of capitalism. Later, David Harvey, and others expanded these frameworks in "New Imperialism" and related works. These ideas delve into continued forms of resource extraction and dispossession in the developing world, suggesting a continuous cycle of accumulation by dispossession. Consider the stories of indigenous populations displaced by resource extraction—do their narratives challenge conventional histories of economic development?
The legacy of primitive accumulation continues to shape discussions about inequality, globalization, and environmental degradation. Reinterpretations of the concept appear in discussions surrounding land grabs, intellectual property rights, and the financialization of nature, highlighting the ongoing relevance of Marx’s critique. Does the story of primitive accumulation truly belong to the past, or does it echo in the contemporary struggles for resources and power?