THE QUESTION OF THE ASIATIC MODE OF PRODUCTION AND PRE-COLONIAL ALGERIA

One of the most controversial concepts in Marxism today is that of the Asiatic mode of production. The latter has been used to characterize the social formations of Asia, Africa, and pre-Columbian America. However, studies that connect theory with practice are still far from being realized. Marx's concepts which he developed for the capitalist mode of production are still applied to pre-capitalist modes of production without either criticism or re-examination, and more alarmingly, with revision. Thus, the present work aims at (1) narrowing the gap between theory and practice, (2) re-examining some of Marx's basic concepts, and (3) formulating a theory of the Asiatic mode of production. In doing so, this dissertation explores in some detail the origin, development, and current status of Marxist historiography in general and the Asiatic mode of production in particular. In the light of this, it examines the social history of pre-colonial North Africa, with an emphasis of Algeria. It outlines the theory of the Asiatic mode of production. Thereby, it suggests that human history cannot be presented as a single sequence of successive stages, each the necessary outcome of its predecessor. Rather, it suggests that the Asiatic mode of production is a stage in the historical development of human society. It evolved from the primitive-communal mode of production and constitutes a stage from which all more developed modes of production evolved, whether directly or through other stages.