Marvin Harris

Lore & Background

Marvin Harris was an American anthropologist who developed the theoretical framework known as cultural materialism. His approach emphasized that a society’s infrastructure—defined as its mode of production (technology and work patterns) and its demographic factors (such as fertility and mortality rates)—is the primary determinant of social structure and cultural beliefs. Harris combined Karl Marx’s focus on the forces of production with Thomas Malthus’s insights on population dynamics, labeling these combined factors as infrastructure. He argued that because these practices are essential for survival, other aspects of society must be consistent with them. Harris was a prolific writer whose work gained wide circulation among lay readers, and he is considered a generalist interested in global processes explaining human origins and cultural evolution. He drew both a loyal following and considerable criticism, and was known for his intense questioning at professional meetings. His research spanned topics including race, evolution, food, and culture, with fieldwork in Brazil, Mozambique, Ecuador, the Bay Islands of Honduras, and India. In his final book, he argued that the political consequences of postmodern theory were harmful.

Reader's Guide

Marvin Harris was an American anthropologist who developed the theoretical framework known as cultural materialism. Born in Brooklyn to a poor Russian-Jewish family, he served in the U.S. Army after World War II before using the G.I. Bill to study at Columbia University. His graduate work was supervised by Charles Wagley, a student of Franz Boas, and initially followed the Boasian idiographic tradition. However, after fieldwork in Mozambique in the late 1950s, Harris underwent a profound theoretical shift away from ideological features of culture toward behavioral aspects. He combined Karl Marx’s emphasis on the forces of production with Thomas Malthus’s insights on demographic factors, labeling these as “infrastructure.” Harris argued that infrastructure—a society’s mode of production and population characteristics—determines social structure and culture. His 1968 book *The Rise of Anthropological Theory* critically examined centuries of social thought to construct this materialist approach. Harris rejected two key Marxist concepts: the dialectic and the unity of theory and practice. He became a regular fixture at American Anthropological Association meetings, known for intense questioning. A prolific writer, his textbooks went through seven editions, and his research spanned Latin America, Mozambique, and India. In his final book, he argued that postmodern theory had harmful political consequences.

Did You Know?

• The source identifies Marvin Harris as an anglophone anthropologist who voiced a technological determinist view.
• Harris's cultural materialism is presented in the source as arguing that adopting a given technological process inevitably produces a given social and cultural outcome.
• The source contrasts Harris's technological determinism with the Anthropology of Technology approach, which focuses on social and cultural factors shaping technology.