Historical Materialism

Aims & Scope

Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory is a Marxist journal, appearing four times a year, based in London. Founded in 1997, it asserts that, notwithstanding the variety of its practical and theoretical articulations, Marxism constitutes the most fertile conceptual framework for analysing social phenomena, with an eye to their overhaul. In our selection of materials, we do not favour any one tendency, tradition or variant. Marx demanded the ‘merciless criticism of everything that exists’: for us that includes Marxism itself. Marxism is nothing if not ‘interdisciplinary’, or, put differently, a theory of totality. The relations of production are dominant relations that exert influence across the whole social matrix. It makes no sense to plug away in one small area of the curriculum without exposing insights to other researchers, in order to probe further their meaningfulness and value. The task of the Marxist critic is to offer a self-reflexive account of historical differentiations between areas of knowledge, without naturalising them or reifying their separation. To this end, the journal opposes the compartmentalisation of knowledge. Given the pressures of careers and the institutionalisation of researchers, this is no easy task. Historical Materialism welcomes contributions that cut across disciplines and evade academic jargon. Historical Materialism has published enough grey-beards in the past and will continue to do so. We are, however, optimistic that our diagnosis of real-existing world conditions, with the recurrent upsurge of class antagonisms and the continual exertions of imperial violence, produce ever new Marxist constituencies. Their hither-to unheard voices are welcome in our journal. Furthermore, Historical Materialism, as proper to a Marxist forum, cultivates international contacts, giving room to analysts from across the world, including non-Anglophone countries. We attempt to host a worldwide scrutiny as our contribution to a denunciation of capitalism worldwide.

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