Marxism and the city: a historical and conceptual perspective
by Antonio Cerquitelli
pp. 197-221 Issue 20 (10, 2) - July-December, 2023 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14718/SoftPower.2023.10.2.9
Abstract
The contemporary city, as David Harvey argues, is the privileged place that permits the realization of surplus value through continuous processes of reorganisation of urban space. Metropolises play a key role as nodes in global value chains, and this aspect brings to the surface the function that the medieval city played in facilitating the transition from feudalism to capitalism. Space has long been the forgotten dimension of Marxism; the following article will therefore attempt to emphasise the function that urban spaces have played in facilitating the industrialisation process of modern society. Finally, the article will attempt to reformulate the question of the “right to the city,” considering the break between the idea of city and the idea of metropolis.