In this far-reaching and insightful work, Vasant Kaiwar analyzes the political, economic, and ideological cross-currents that have shaped and informed postcolonial studies. Kaiwar mobilizes Marxism to demonstrate that subaltern studies is marred by orientalism, and that far richer understandings of 'Europe' not to mention 'colonialism', 'modernity' and 'difference' are possible without a postcolonialism captive to phenomenological-existentialism and post-structuralism.