The rise of collective capitalism

Abstract

On historical-materialist principles, the transition to socialism presupposes two main developments: (a) the accumulation of a set of material preconditions. To quote the Preface to the Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy ‘new, higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society itself’. (b) The emergence of a social force, a social class who, in the achievement of this social transformation, perceive the way of asserting their interests. Consequently they adopt the aim of socialism as their long-term, historic mission. Needless to say, Marx identified this social force as the working class. Material preconditions constitute the topic of the present chapter, while the role of the working class is left for Chapter 10.