Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India

This thesis examines the applicability of Karl Marx’s theoretical apparatuses in explaining the development of capital relations in India’s transition from commercial to industrial colonialism. Its findings engage with and are a response to the preponderance of secondary literature that argues again...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shebl, Adham
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2019
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613412003938304
access_status_str Open Access
author Shebl, Adham
author_browse Shebl, Adham
author_facet Shebl, Adham
author_sort Shebl, Adham
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy.
description This thesis examines the applicability of Karl Marx’s theoretical apparatuses in explaining the development of capital relations in India’s transition from commercial to industrial colonialism. Its findings engage with and are a response to the preponderance of secondary literature that argues against Marx’s usefulness in understanding the colonial moment in the Global South. Many of these secondary studies have argued against the use of Marx because of his purported Eurocentricity that renders his conclusions regarding the Global South inadequate. This study argues that fundamental to dissecting this intellectual argument is developing an understanding of Marx’s levels of generality whereby the historical descriptions and conclusions, and the theoretical framework and methods he employs are abstracted. To this end, this thesis asserts the levels of generality as the most critical to reading Marx as they permit the reader to move beyond the causal laws and tendencies and instead delve further into the relations that allow them to exist. Finally, this study shows how Marx’s totality of social life can be used to understand a particular society in a specific moment: India in the colonial period. While not all-encompassing, it shows the applicability of Marx’s theoretical apparatus to examine a colonized society — using India as an illustration — especially with regards to modes of production, social relations, and some aspects of legal and governmental arrangements. While further research would need to incorporate additional aspects of the social totality, including mental conceptions, reproduction of daily life, technology, and relationships to nature, its combination with the findings of the present study allows for a more complete view of capital relations in colonial India.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1777
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:43.583Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher AUC Knowledge Fountain
publisherStr AUC Knowledge Fountain
record_format dspace
source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-1777 Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India Shebl, Adham This thesis examines the applicability of Karl Marx’s theoretical apparatuses in explaining the development of capital relations in India’s transition from commercial to industrial colonialism. Its findings engage with and are a response to the preponderance of secondary literature that argues against Marx’s usefulness in understanding the colonial moment in the Global South. Many of these secondary studies have argued against the use of Marx because of his purported Eurocentricity that renders his conclusions regarding the Global South inadequate. This study argues that fundamental to dissecting this intellectual argument is developing an understanding of Marx’s levels of generality whereby the historical descriptions and conclusions, and the theoretical framework and methods he employs are abstracted. To this end, this thesis asserts the levels of generality as the most critical to reading Marx as they permit the reader to move beyond the causal laws and tendencies and instead delve further into the relations that allow them to exist. Finally, this study shows how Marx’s totality of social life can be used to understand a particular society in a specific moment: India in the colonial period. While not all-encompassing, it shows the applicability of Marx’s theoretical apparatus to examine a colonized society — using India as an illustration — especially with regards to modes of production, social relations, and some aspects of legal and governmental arrangements. While further research would need to incorporate additional aspects of the social totality, including mental conceptions, reproduction of daily life, technology, and relationships to nature, its combination with the findings of the present study allows for a more complete view of capital relations in colonial India. 2019-06-01T07:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/778 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1777/viewcontent/AdhamShebl_FINALThesis_17_5_2019.pdf The author retains all rights with regard to copyright. The author certifies that written permission from the owner(s) of third-party copyrighted matter included in the thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study has been obtained. The author further certifies that IRB approval has been obtained for this thesis, or that IRB approval is not necessary for this thesis. Insofar as this thesis, dissertation, paper, or record of study is an educational record as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 USC 1232g), the author has granted consent to disclosure of it to anyone who requests a copy. Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Marx Colonial India
spellingShingle Marx
Colonial India
Shebl, Adham
Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title_full Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title_fullStr Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title_full_unstemmed Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title_short Reading Capital: towards an understanding of the process of colonization in India
title_sort reading capital towards an understanding of the process of colonization in india
topic Marx
Colonial India
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/778
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/1777/viewcontent/AdhamShebl_FINALThesis_17_5_2019.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT shebladham readingcapitaltowardsanunderstandingoftheprocessofcolonizationinindia