The Critiques of Primitive Accumulation

Abstract

This essay is aimed to examine Marx's notion of primi- tive accumulation in Capital Vol I. Also, this essay is intended to explore criticism of that notion from contemporary scholars like David Harvey and Nancy Hartsock who reconst ruct Marx's primi- tive accumulation and propose the concept of "accumulation by dispossession" and "the feminization of primitive accumulation" respectively. In the end of this essay, I would like to propose an alternative concept, "accumulation by provision of public goods," which is aimed to apply Marx's primitive accumulation to the analysis of modern states in the contemporary context of global capitalism.