The Feudalism Debate

This volume arose as part of global interest in the problematic of feudalism in the 1980s, opening up both its theoretical premises and the empirical basis to extensive, deep, and varied explorations. Most exploration were grounded in Marxist theory. In 1981, Harbans Mukhia’s essay, ‘Was There Feudalism in Indian History?’ was published in The Journal of Peasant Studies, which triggered an international debate on the problem in the journal’s special issue in 1985 and some subsequent issues. Among the central questions was the tension between the Marxist conception of capitalism as the first world system and several Marxist historians’ construction of feudalism as a universal category. The spatial dimensions of the problem were extended to include China, Turkey, and Arabia, besides Europe and India, in the course of the debate. The questioning of some of the received wisdom understandably leads to both fierce defence on its behalf as well as further questions.