Author: John Breuilly

The three texts published here were written in the mid-1970s. John Breuilly, “Critique of P. Anderson, Lineages of the Absolutist State” Theodor Shanin, “The Marxism(s) of Our Time” Michael Evans, “Some Notes on Perry Anderson” Here I explain how these came about. Back in 1974, I was teaching on a Modern Politics and History degree

This book raises a vast range of problems. To make the paper manageable, I can only concentrate on the major argument: Anderson’s explanation of absolutism. I do not consider Book I, chapters 5 &. 6, Book II, chapter 7, and the two appendices. These deal with cases where neither absolutism nor the basic economic changes