Classical Marxism

The orthodox Marxist theory of capitalist development as formulated by Marx and Engels, distinguished from later variants such as Leninism. It is critiqued for neglecting imperialism/colonialism and for illegitimately generalizing European developmental forms to non-Western societies.

Claims that use this term

• Classical Marxism neglected imperialism in its theory of capitalist development
• Classical Marxism treated capitalist colonialism as historically necessary for non-Western development
• Classical Marxism illegitimately generalizes European developmental forms to other societies