The Long Transition

The papers in the present volume, though covering a wide range of fields, from economic theory to economic history, the problems of socialist economies, and teh dynamics of Indian agriculture, have nonetheless, a basic unity. This arises not only from the Marxist perspective underlying them, but also from an attempt to engage with 'the present as history'.

This 'present' above all is marked by the phenomenon of imperialism whose conceptual presence permeates many of the essays. Its role in the development of capitalism in the advanced countries, its need and attempt to recolonize the third world, the contradictions arising from the unresolved agrarian question in third world societies, and the minimum conditions for their completing the long transition to emancipation: such are the issues which concern the author. The concepts of class and the mode of production are developed and used for exploring these issues.