Class or Inherent Vice?

This chapter discusses the concept of ‘Greek business genius’ in the political discourse of the Greek Left during the first half of the 20^th century. The notion became identified with the so-called ‘unproductive’ and ‘compradorial’ character of the Greek bourgeoisie and its subordination to foreign capital. This approach dominated Marxist analysis of Greek capitalism since the beginning of the 20^th century and continues to influence contemporary leftist and anti-imperialist discourse, often associated with post-war theories of dependency. Our analysis is based on the writings of three leading early Greek Marxists: Georgios Skliros, Gianis Kordatos and Seraphim Maximos. Although Skliros introduced historical materialism in Greece, he became receptive to naturalistic and ethical approaches accepting the notion of ‘business genius’ as the ‘racial genius’ par excellence of the Greeks. Kordatos stressed the compradorial and dependent character of the Greek bourgeoisie, while Maximos described the circumstances in which Greek capitalism emerged and prospered and offered a historical-materialist interpretation of its intermediary character and its social and political role in the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean.