Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital Resource Type: Book Published: 2013 Against the thesis that Western subalterns are made of different stuff, Chibber argues that human beings are, at their core, not that different across contexts. The winds of history and culture may change many things, but not human constitutions. His defense of this argument sets the stage for a deliberate, careful explication of the key tenets of historical materialism. This argument is that humans, everywhere, take an interest in defending their well-being and their dignity.