French africanist and economic anthropologist; student of Balandier; one of the pioneers of French neo-Marxian anthropology. Meillassoux did fieldwork among the Ivory Coast Guro (Gouro), writing particularly on subsistence economy and the role of women. In his theoretical works he extends these interests in a number of ways: in a contrastive study of the control of reproduction and women among hunters and gatherers and among agriculturalists; and in a major comparative work on slavery. In a famous debate with Sahlins during the 1970's, he criticized the latter's idea of a "domestic mode of production". Meillassoux has been a consistent critic of social injustice for many years, who has spoken out against apartheid, child labor and the stereotypical view of the post-socialist transition as a benign marketization and democratization.