I'm really getting tired of vapid historical analysis which completely sidelines any notions of class, or literally anything other than the mainstream misconstruing of history though great man theory
Silvia Fererici's Caliban and the Witch is basically a people's history of western European feudalism and is an awesome read, a pretty rich text.
Walter Rodney's How Europe Underdeveloped Africa covers a lot of the transition specifically of Africa, but is maybe less fun to read.
I haven't read it, but heard 1491 is a great source for Turtle Island.
Was just gonna mention caliban and the witch, it's an excellent resource for feudal-era class analysis.
The USSR had a political economy textbook that devotes the first chapter to pre-capitalist economies https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/
How the World Works by Paul Cockshott. you can use the bibliography as a reading list as well.
Some that I haven't seen mentioned yet:
- Galeano - open veins of latin america
- clr james - the black jacobins
Hobsbawm is also known for his Marxist history tomes, but I haven't finished any of those yet.
Off the top of my head:
Eric Hobsbawm was a Marxist historian who wrote the Age of series. The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789 - 1848 isn't quite pre-capitalist but might be of interest to you. I have yet to read it even though the series is on my shelf, so I can't vouch for it.
Caliban and the Witch was already recommended and is a good read.
The Dawn of Everything isn't strictly materialist but is a good read, mostly focusing on pre-history and non-european cultures. Also Debt by one of the same authors.
Gerald Horne is a prolific writer, known for The Counter-Revolution of 1776. Looks like most of his work is also early capitalism forward, but what I've read and heard from him is good.
The Bourgeois Revolution in France 1789-1815 is a good class analysis, pretty interesting.
Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent might also partially fit in the timeframe you're looking for.
I'd be very interested in anything 0 -1500 AD because it looks like my library is lacking there.
On my phone so I won't search the specific vids, but I believe Michael Hudson would be a good source for 0-1500 AD (and even back to the days of ancient Sumeria).
Here's a link to an article of his on the subject, anyways. https://michael-hudson.com/2018/04/palatial-credit-origins-of-money-and-interest/
I've watched a few of his talks on the history of economics, and in particular on the history of debt (and the jubilee/debt forgiveness systems which had been found across the world, to which the Romans, Greeks, and then the inherited systems of debt in Europe were a notable exception).
From his website alone, it seems like he has many books on the subject (as well as more contemporary ones). I've not read them but imagine they cover topics he's spoken of in his many interviews I've watched:
https://michael-hudson.com/books/
Ooh thanks for the share! I have his super imperialism but also haven't read it yet. I'll check these links out
I have his super imperialism but also haven’t read it yet.
Are you me? Same... I really need to get to reading my books honestly, I have a ton but never get to them.
I wind up reading fanfics, listening to talks/analysts, or reading articles and excerpts once in a while on my phone/PC instead.
Lol I figure if I have them nearby I'm more likely to read them eventually. Which is true, but "eventually" is doing a lot of work.
I've started most of them fwiw, but only finished like 20%.
Nice to have on-hand to reference tho, especially as search engines continue to decline.
True, my logic is much the same as well. Though you're clearly starting and reading more of them than me (it tends to be nil).
Not completely throughout but decent book on the development of industry in the US -> "Behemoth, by joshua freeman"
