ABSTRACT
The new historical data seem to firmly justify the conclusions which Marx and Engels hesitated to make. There are two questions which must not be confused: the first is the extent to which the solution to the problem of the ‘Asiatic’ (‘tributary’) social formation is resolved in the Marxist classics; the second is the viability of the concept today in the light of our knowledge of new historical facts. This chapter defines the characteristics of the ‘tributary’ social formation by using those classical works which mention the Asiatic mode of production. The outcome depends on concrete historical factors which vary from society to society. In some instances, even though the primitive communist formation has been transformed into slavery, ‘tributary’ types of features that appeared in the final stage of primitive communism remain as survivals in the new society based on slavery and even carry on into feudal society which follows the latter.
