Class, Qualitative Efficiency, and Institutions: David Gordon’s Contributions to Marxist Theory

David M. Gordon’s contributions to Marxist theory are identified through a close study of his early research. In making this theory relevant to contemporary events, Gordon introduced important innovations incrementally in his research leading to social structure of accumulation theory. The applied and diverse nature of his work can make it challenging to identify these innovations. The article traces two important themes in this research: the distinction between “quantitative” and “qualitative” production efficiency and Gordon’s insistence that capitalist development needs to be understood through endogenous class struggle and political-economic relations rather than through exogenous or autonomous forces. Finding in Gordon’s early publications a sequence of progressive stages, the article situates his contributions within the larger development of modern Marxian political economy.

JEL Classification: B24, B51, J42, J15