ABSTRACT
Yet, methodological constraints of this type do not entail the necessity to view historical materialism purely in a retrospective manner, that is, from the vantage-point of a supposedly ‘finished’ theory of capitalist evolution as contained in Marx’s Grundrisse and Kapital. What I am opposing at this point is a perspective that assigns absolute primacy to political economy and its critique. Perhaps, an application of the basic principles of historical materialism is going to reveal that political economy today is no longer the crucial problem area for analytical purposes; we certainly cannot exclude this possibility.
