1 The Retreat from the Economic in Marxist Theory Richard Westra westrarj@aim.com Introduction Distancing himself from “utopian” contemporaries, Marx argues that preceding attempts to supersede it, capitalism must first be understood. Producing knowledge of capitalism is then to devolve to a new political economy research agenda under-girded by the economic theory of Capital, a work that by all accounts consumes the better part of Marx’s life. Yet, paradoxically, throughout more than a century following Marx’s passing, Marxism (the body of thought tracing its lineage to Marx), notwithstanding a fecund heterogeneity, is offered up as essentially a theory of history. Indeed, today, few dispute the view of historical materialism as the centerpiece of Marxism, with political economy, portrayed at best as a sub-theory. The overarching concern of the article then is the implications of this eclipse of Marxian economics by historical materialism. Its analysis turns upon the question of how what is here referred to as the retreat from the economic in Marxist theory is impelled by the sub-theory role political economy plays in support of historical materialism. Simply stated, it is argued that Marxian economics is compromised through its conscription by historical materialism for purposes of confirming the latter’s integral claim of a socialist historical outcome. As the actual course of human history portends diminishing prospects for this, so the scope of Marxian economics is circumscribed and its contribution to the Marxist research program increasingly downplayed. It is concluded that the role of economic theory in Marxism is necessarily quite different from the foregoing and the reinstatement of the economic in