Abstract
An attempt is made to meet the criticism that G. A. Cohen's functional interpretation of Marx's theory of history fails for lack of a causal mechanism to explain how functional consequences occur. It is argued that Marx's work contains rudiments of a ‘Darwinian’ mechanism of historical selection, by which those production relations survive that best ensure reproduction of the productive forces. This necessitates the abandonment of Cohen's implausible ‘scarcity thesis’.
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