I do not pretend originality for everything argued here. Various intellectual influences on my argument will be apparent, of which some deserve particular acknowledgement. I would single out for special mention the work of Bertell Ollman, whose Alienation remains for me the classic study of Marx's novelty; the historical writings - which are profoundly theoretical in their import - of Edward Thompson, Christopher Hill and other Marxist historians; and the pathbreaking Marxist anthropology of Maurice Godelier. Many of the ideas developed here originated in collaborative work with Philip Corrigan, not only in our recent study of English state formation, The Great Arch, but in our previous books with Harvie Ramsay on socialist construction in post-revolutionary societies. Patrick Murray's helpful criticisms of Marx's Method, in his review essay in Philosophy of the Social Sciences, jolted me into rethinking the importance of Marx's Hegelian background, something I undoubtedly neglected in the earlier book.
Ted Benton, Philip Corrigan, Greg McLennan and Gavin Williams read the first draft of this book in full, and made extensive, sometimes highly critical, but invariably useful comments. I have tried to respond to their anxieties, even if on some issues I have remained obstinate. Their generosity has at least, I hope, made some points in my argument rather less murky than they were in their first formulation. David Frisby indulged a good deal of thinking aloud on my part, and added some ideas of his own. Sean Magee was as ever all that one could want in an editor, and Blackwell a positive pleasure to work with. Much of the book was written during a period of two terms' study leave from the University of Glasgow; it would have taken a lot longer otherwise. To all, my thanks.
Glasgow, Scotland
Derek Sayer
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PREFACE
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