@@Marx's theory of history, as set out in the chapters on'primitive accumulation'inCapital, is still valid when expanded into a historico-theoretical conception of the capitalistmode of production worldwide. His account of primitive accumulation, especially inChapter 24 'So-called primitive accumulation' in Volume One and in Chapter 47 'Genesisof capitalist ground-rent' in Volume Three (Marx 1965,1966),should not be read simply asa history of English capitalism as a unique phenomenon. In Capital Marx (1965:8)identified England as the'classic case' for his study of capitalism in general. He arguedthat advanced English capitalism presaged the future for other developing nations; hemaintained that vision from the time of his early works in the 1840s. His account ofprimitive accumulation thus has the potential to generate a theory of history that wouldenable us to understand the structure and trends of primitive accumulation in contemporarydeveloping nations.His theory reveals that these nations are following basically the samepath as past Western primitive accumulation. In the process of primitive accumulation,capitalism generally forms 'rentier-state capitalism', sometimes referred to as'developmental dictatorship'. Early English capitalism offers a classic example of'rentier-state capitalism'.
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