Events
See the latest events taking place across our research groups.
Theory & Critique Reading Group: standalone meeting so-called primitive accumulation
Wednesday 10 December 16:00 until 18:00
University of Sussex Campus : Freeman G31
Part of the series: Theory & Critique Reading Group
Dear all,
In the very engaging first three meetings of this year's Theory & Critique Reading Group on Federici's Caliban and the Witch, one of the main points of confrontation and discussion concerns Federici's periodisation of the 'transition' to capitalism. In our December meeting, we thought it would help if we directed our attention to the primary source of Federici's principal, yet inescapably paradigmatic, critical targets: Marx's treatment of so-called primitive accumulation.
In preparation for our next meeting, we will read (or re-read, or re-re-re-re-read) the disarmingly powerful concluding section of Marx's Volume One of Capital, its Part VIII (chs 26–33) on so-called primitive or original accumulation.
- Penguin version (1990, pp.873–940)
- Lawrence & Wishart (1961, pp.713–774)
- Marx and Engels Collected Works (MECW, 1996, Vol. 35, pp.704–761)
- Marxist.org digital version (Starting with ch.26 here)
- Princeton UP version (2024, pp.650–701)
(As always, give us a nod if you need a digital copy of the part/chapters [Penguin/MECW])
Do share widely in your Schools/Departments/Research Centres/Research Groups/etc and with anyone you think might be interested in joining this 'one-off' meeting.
For any further info or questions, please contact Yari Lanci (y.lanci@sussex.ac.uk), Vladimir Rizov (v.rizov@sussex.ac.uk), and Dan Whillis (d.p.whillis@sussex.ac.uk)
Best wishes,
Dr Yari Lanci
Assistant Professor in Sociology
School of Law, Politics and Sociology
University of Sussex
By: Yari Lanci
Last updated: Wednesday, 19 November 2025