Skip to main content

Marxist Sociobiology

A Marxist critique and reconstruction of sociobiology—examining how biological explanations of social behavior reflect class interests and how a materialist approach might differ. Marxist Sociobiology asks: Does sociobiology's focus on genetic determinism serve to naturalize inequality? How do class relations shape what counts as "adaptive"? Could a Marxist sociobiology examine how social organization shapes biological evolution, and vice versa, without reducing one to the other? Marxist Sociobiology doesn't reject biology; it insists that biological and social explanations must be integrated, and that claims about "human nature" must be examined for their political content.
"They say inequality is natural because our primate ancestors had hierarchies. Marxist Sociobiology asks: which primates? Which hierarchies? And even if true, does natural mean good? Marxism insists on history, not just biology. Human nature isn't fixed; it's made and remade through social relations. Sociobiology without history is ideology; Marxism without biology is incomplete. Together, they might actually explain something."
by Dumu The Void March 3, 2026
mugGet the Marxist Sociobiology mug.

Share this definition

Sign in to vote

We'll email you a link to sign in instantly.

Or

Check your email

We sent a link to

Open your email