Marx in the Colonies: The Case of India

This thesis will address the claim that Marx and Engels held pro-colonialist views, using their writings on India as a case study. It will address both the issue of support for colonialism as a political project, and the issue of whether they had Eurocentric/"Orientalist" ideas of India. I will argue they began as reluctant supporters of British colonialism in India, conceptualizing it as an exploitative but progressive force, but then moved towards anti-colonialism later on. Additionally, I will argue that Marx and Engels reproduced Eurocentric/"Orientalist" stereotypes about Indian's stagnation, but that they did not explain this stagnation as a product of racial inferiority. I will argue Marx's late notebooks present a less Eurocentric view of India. Finally, I will locate my work in the discussion of decolonizing philosophy, drawing out potential implications for the Marxian project, and the nuances of Marx and Engels's legacy.