Recovering Reparative Readings of Postcolonialism and Marxism

Rao, Rahul

Abstract

This article offers critical readings of two works that are symptomatic of a troubling repudiation of postcolonialism and Marxism by each other. Locating itself within the subfield of postcolonial international relations, John Hobson’s 'The Eurocentric Conception of World Politics' (2012) dismisses Marx as imperialist and Lenin (and various forms of neo-Marxism) as Eurocentric. Vivek Chibber’s 'Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital' (2013) renews the Marxist attack on postcolonialism, ironically casting subaltern studies as a form of orientalism. I argue that the relative lack of attention in these polemics to reparative possibilities immanent within the theoretical formations being criticized is disabling, forcing us to choose positions that insist on the priority of some axes of marginality over others. In the tradition of feminist intersectionality, my critiques of these texts insist on reading their respective theoretical antagonists in ways that bridge the supposed gulf between postcolonalism and Marxism.

Citation

Rao, R. (2017). Recovering Reparative Readings of Postcolonialism and Marxism. Critical Sociology, 43(4-5), 587-598. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920516630798

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 29, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Feb 29, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 8, 2016
• Journal: Critical Sociology
• Print ISSN: 0896-9205
• Electronic ISSN: 1569-1632
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 43
• Issue: 4-5
• Pages: 587-598
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920516630798
• Keywords: Fanon, intersectionality, Lenin, Marx, Marxism, postcolonialism, subaltern studies, world systems theory
• Publisher URL: http://crs.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/02/27/0896920516630798.full.pdf+html
• Additional Information: Additional Information : Published online before print February 29, 2016.