Marx's Method of Successive Abstractions and his Analysis of Modes of Production.

This is the first of two articles that investigate Marx's method of successive abstractions, an approach that merges dialectical sensibilities with scientific procedures. This first article explains Marx's techniques of concept construction and use of constants and variables in his comparative analysis of modes of production. The second article applies the method of successive abstractions to a historical-materialist sociology of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]