Classical Marxism treated capitalist colonialism as historically necessary for non-Western development

Evidence

However, these additional features of Marx’s argument lead his explanation in a very surprising direction. “Asiatic”-type societies, he argues, cannot develop into modern ones because they lack certain preconditions. Therefore, “only the introduction of dynamic elements of Western capitalism” can trigger development. This makes “capitalist colonialism” a (regrettable) historical necessity for these societies, since it alone can “destroy the pre-capitalist modes which prevent them from entering a progressive historical path.” — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 681

Categorization

• XREF: This is the foundation of the ‘colonialism as progressive catalyst’ narrative that later postcolonial and Islamic studies critique — connects to the reader’s downstream Islamophobia readings on Orientalist teleologies. — connects to: Early neoliberal development theory echoed colonial assumptions about non-Western peoples — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin: The Making…, 1290; Colonialism and capitalism have been entangled since the sixteenth century — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 41
• DEFINE: Pins down what ‘classical Marxist’ developmental theory claimed about non-Western societies, a key reference point in the scaffolding literature.