This book investigates the historical and theoretical intersection between Marxist thought and anthropological study, specifically questioning how the two fields have informed and constrained one another. Maurice Bloch, a prominent anthropologist, evaluates the foundational writings of Marx and Engels regarding primitive societies against modern ethnographic data. He argues that the reliance of early Marxist theory on the concept of class led to significant analytical inconsistencies when applied to pre-capitalist social structures.

Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the history of social theory and the critical reception of Marxism within the academy. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the author's rigorous approach to deconstructing foundational ideological assumptions.