Marx, Engels and the National Question

national question reveal great differences in interpretation from one historical situation to another. In this paper I propose that there is an underlying paradigm which makes their seemingly divergent analyses part of a coherent whole. The main parameters of this paradigm are derived from three conceptions widely considered central to historical materialism: the theory of evolution; the theory of economic determination of the forces of production; and a derivative category of both, the Eurocentric bias in the analysis of concrete case studies. The theory of evolution holds that social transformation can be grasped in universal laws of historical development. History is a progressive series of changes through universal and hierarchically defined stages. There are many variations of this theory, but in broad terms, it is accepted by the vast majority of schools that constitute the Marxist tradition.