A compilation of articles originally published in Science & Society between 1951 and 1953, with a new foreword from the Cambridge economist Maurice Dobb (1900-1976).
These articles form the backbone of the Transition debate in which two opposing accounts of the decline of feudalism were set out by Maurice Dobb and Paul Sweezy. Here, in one short volume, an essential debate of Marxist historiography is played out between those who characterised the decline of serfdom as entirely endogenous to the feudal mode of production, and those who viewed exogenous factors, such as the rise of trade, as a primary driver of the transition. Versions of this debate continued to draw the attention of economic historians of the twentieth century, with the most well-known clash, The Brenner Debate, being heavily influenced by the critical discussions included in this text.
Printed together here for the first time, this collection features contributions not only from Maurice Dobb and Marxist economist Paul Sweezy, but also from other leading Marxist historians (Christopher Hill, Rodney Hilton and H.K. Takahashi).
Generally clean inside except one penned line, evidence of unobtrusive damp at bottom of final pages, minor spotting of inside wrapper and title page, general wear at both front and back with some toning at extremities, notwithstanding a good robust copy.
