Contribution short abstract:

Building on the decolonial dimensions of Marxist theory, the paper reconstructs the history of mainstream anthropology as a fervent supporter of capitalism's colonial, imperialist, and neoliberal historical fixes. Case studies consider the making of neoliberal anthropology in theory and practice.

Contribution long abstract:

Building on the decolonial dimension of Marxist theories - as exemplified in the works of leading Marxist anthropologists like Eleanor Leacock, Sidney Mintz, and Peter Worsley as well as decolonial thinkers such as CLR James, Samir Amin, and more - this presentation reconstructs the history of mainstream anthropology as a fervent supporter of capitalism's colonial, imperialist, and neoliberal historical fixes. This move to establish a Marxist analysis of the historical complicity of mainstream anthropology with capitalism’s global regime of exploitation and super-exploitation and the mass murdering regimes that come with that is enriched with case studies on the making of neoliberal anthropology in a second step. Critical analysis of the work of Clifford Geertz and others on Indonesia allows for a sophisticated analysis of the deliberate silencing and invisibilising of mass movements calling for socialism in Indonesia, both before and after the 1965 mass killings. This is expanded with an analysis of mainstream anthropology’s deliberate silencing of Marxist movements in the small island state Mauritius in the works of Burton Benedict and Thomas Eriksen in a second case study.

In conclusion, I aim to develop the Marxist history of science approach for anthropology’s capitalist encounter towards a dystopian view for the collaborations that we may see from anthropology with neoliberalism’s emerging successor regimes in the 21st century.