Marxist and Neo-Marxist Interpretations of Ethnicity

This paper reviews both the contributions and inadequacies of Marxist and neo-Marxist efforts to account for the persistence of ethnicity in modern societies. The former approach relegates ethnic group relations and consciousness in capitalist society either to a vestigial survival of pre-capitalist class relations or as a case of false consciousness. It treats ethnicity as a necessarily dependent variable, and predicts that ethnicity eventually will disappear. Recognizing the continuing significance of ethnic forces in modern capitalist societies, neo-Marxists concerned with uneven development at both an external global and an intra-societal level offer explanations as to how structures of ethnic inequality are functional for capitalist accumulation. Critiques of such theories are offered. The essay concludes by evaluating the limitations and prospects of a Marxist analysis of ethnicity.