Historicism charges erase liberation struggles’ use of Marxist critique.

Evidence

All previous ‘critiques of imperialism’ are thus effortlessly conjoined with ‘the actual practice of imperialism’, thanks to the historicist contamination. So much for the intellectual capacities of national liberation struggles, which have often used at least the Marxist critiques of imperialism, not to speak of Gramsci’s own historicism, which Said often likes ro invoke! — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 713

Categorization

• XREF: The contradiction the reader tracks — Said invoking Gramsci’s historicism while condemning historicism blanket — is structurally homologous to strategic essentialism’s ironic-but-real residence bind. — connects to: Orientalism’s totalizing victim narrative erases home-country wrongs and oppositional histories like Marxism — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 817; Orientalism’s totalizing discourse critique erases all sites of resistance and liberation; Anti-colonial critique before Said was overwhelmingly Marxist-affiliated — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 320 (+2 more)
• SHARE: For anyone working on Gramsci reception in postcolonial theory: Said both celebrates and condemns historicism without resolving the tension.

Broader Connections

• Aid’s orientalism critique largely repeated earlier Marxist work that never gained canonical status #corroborates (0.90) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 608
• Anti-colonial critique before Said was overwhelmingly Marxist-affiliated #contradicts (0.85) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 320
• Said’s canonical Orientalism critique was preceded by a neglected Marxist one #corroborates (0.85)
• Orientalism’s totalizing discourse critique erases all sites of resistance and liberation #complicates (0.80)
• Orientalism’s totalizing victim narrative erases home-country wrongs and oppositional histories like Marxism #expands (0.78) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 817