Volume 27, number 4 (2006)
Development and the Agrarian Question
Introduction
“One of the most critical issues debated by political sociologists for decades has surrounded the role of the peasantry and other rural producers in the context of a historic process that has raised serious questions about the continued viability of a traditional ‘peasant’ economy and the ‘disappearance’ of the peasantry as an economic and social category, and as a political actor. The debate on this and related questions has been interminable and without resolution. Now several development scholars have entered the debate, reframing the ‘agrarian question’ in a new way — in the context of international development … ”
Is There an Agrarian Question in the 21st Century?
This paper first explores the lineages and applications of the ”classic“ agrarian question, including its fateful adaptation in the early Soviet Union, as the agrarian question of capital. It then argues that the agrarian question of capital has been superseded in the current period of globalization. There are no longer classes of predatory pre-capitalist landed property of any major weight, nor is it useful to regard today’s small farmers as ”peasants“ in any inherited historical sense. Struggles over land may manifest an agrarian question of (increasingly fragmented) classes of labour, but — for all their importance — do not have the same systemic (or world-historical) significance as the agrarian question of capital once had.
Focusing on Agriculture: A Comment on Henry Bernstein’s ‘Is There an Agrarian Question in the 21st Century?’
“Henry Bernstein revisits the big questions about the history of agrarian social relations and capitalism. I will first summarize what I take to be the key innovations of his argument, revising them from my own perspective. Then I will suggest a larger revision based on changes over the 150 years addressed by Bernstein in the relations between agriculture and the larger capitalist economy and state-system. This will proceed in two steps: first, the uneven historical trajectory through which agriculture as an economic sector has supplanted agrarian formations as social and cultural complexes; and second, reflections on capital and labour as ‘agrarian questions,’ including a brief response to Bernstein’s request that I address the issue of population. Finally, I suggest that an end to ‘agrarian questions’ requires us to rethink questions of ‘land’ and ‘labour,’ and the very nature of capitalism itself, in relation to deeper questions with which Marx defined modes of production: the relation between humans and nature … ”
‘Is There an Agrarian Question in the 21st Century?’ A Commentary
“The fundamental message of Henry Bernstein’s text is the idea that there exists a basic cleavage in agrarian social history. This cleavage marks the existence of two radically different forms of rural social mobilizations. The contrast between these forms is made clear by the existence or absence of peasant wars such as those studied by Eric Wolf. Bernstein shows the relationship between these changes and the displacement of the peasantry. The consequences of his analysis for political action are far reaching: no peasants and no peasant wars in the present. He also tries to offer elements to start thinking about the type of actions that can be expected nowadays. Bernstein’s message is fundamentally about politics. To present his message and to lay the foundations of his thesis, he makes a heroic effort at synthesis in the few pages of the paper and succeeds in offering a useful general approach to changes in the conditions of rural labour … ”
Reframing Development: Global Peasant Movements and the New Agrarian Question
This paper criticizes the conventional conception of the agrarian question and argues that the way the ”agrarian question“ is traditionally understood should be revised. The role played by the agrarian movement, especially transnational agrarian movements such as the Vía Campesina, is underscored.
Articles
Labour’s Response to the Informalization of Work in the Current Restructuring of Global Capitalism: China, South Korea, and South Africa
This article focuses on ”the informalization of work“ that is proliferating in all regions of the world. How and why has it come about? What are the effects? What are the implications for the labour movement? The article has three interconnected parts: first, I provide some explanations of concepts and terminology, especially to distinguish the process of ”informalization of work“ from the paradigm of the informal/formal sector, which may never have been an accurate way of viewing; second, three examples — China, South Korea, and South Africa — are given to ground more concretely this current informalization process; and finally I analyze strategies undertaken by labour to address the indisputable adverse consequences of this current phase of global capitalism.
The Anarchy of Numbers: Understanding the Evidence on Venezuelan Economic Growth
This paper studies the causes of Venezuela’s low economic growth from 1950 to 1998.We show that there exist wide divergences in many commonly used estimates of GDP growth, and discuss the sources of those differences. We show that the choice of base year and linking techniques is crucial for the diagnosis of economic growth, and argue that the aggregate GDP and Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth numbers are distorted by cuts in oil production that came about as a result of the country adopting the OPEC strategy of exploiting market power during the 1970s. We argue that non-oil growth and TFP numbers represent more adequate measures of economic performance and that, while far from satisfactory, these do not deviate significantly from those of other Latin American countries.
Gender and Rural Energy Technologies: Empowerment Perspective — A Case Study of Nepal
This paper analyzes whether alternative energy technologies have been able to lift the socio-economic status of rural women in Nepal, and mountain women in particular, in terms of saving their labour and time spent in managing household energy. It also examines if these technologies have provided increasing opportunities for women to be involved in socio-economic activities in rural villages. It is based on research conducted in Kavre, one of the first districts where the Rural Energy Development Program, supported by the UNDP, implemented micro hydro plants and other rural energy technologies.
Voices from the Field
Croissance et réduction de la pauvreté au Mali : quelques éléments de réflexion
Considered an ”A-student“ by the Bretton Woods Institutions, Mali benefits from debt relief. Growth resumed after the 1994 devaluation, but poverty did not decrease significantly. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper gives priority to investment in education and health. In countries like Mali, the effectiveness of such policies is questionable, at least in the short or medium run. We propose to focus on the dynamics of poverty reduction. To promote equality of opportunity, redistribution issues should be taken into consideration, but also ways of promoting an increase in rainfed agriculture and steady job creation in urban areas.
‘Happiness’ and ‘Holes’: Questions for the Future of Development through Sport
Throughout the International Year of Sport and Physical Education (IYSPE 2005), the sport and development community made great efforts to raise its public profile and strengthen its role as a fundamental part of international development assistance. The 2nd Magglingen Conference provided an opportunity for the sport and development community to reflect upon its past efforts, and established a new focus for future development through sport. This article reflects on the Magglingen Call to Action 2005 through the lens of the author’s experience, and asks how development through sport will address the complex reality of its new focus.
Reflections on Development
Partners in Crime? A Critical Commentary on Babcock et al. (2003) on the University Consortium on the Environment as a Partnership between Universities in Canada and Indonesia
“I wish to respond to the article by Tim Babcock, Bill Found, Bruce Mitchell, and Susan Wismer (2003) entitled ‘Human and Institutional Capacity Enhancement for Environmental Management in Indonesia: The Experience of the University Consortium on the Environment, 1987 to 2002’ … Although I intend to raise what are for me quite disturbing questions about Canadian academics’ involvement in development projects in Indonesia (which extend to equivalent projects in China), let me say at once that I respect the genuine desire evident among the special issue’s contributors, and surely in the academic ‘development’ community more broadly, to do some good for their development partners in poverty reduction, environmental management, and social equity generally, including enhancement of human rights in the ‘developing’ partner country, particularly perhaps for women and minorities. Moreover, it is evident that such work is inherently difficult and that it has not been made easier by the onslaught of corporate commercialization and the neo-liberal globalization agenda on Canadian universities and funding agencies in recent years. … ”
Reviews
Globalization, Development, and Culture: A Thematic Study of Four Recent Arabic Books by Galal Ahmad Amin
Liberation from Liberalization: Gender and Globalization in Southeast Asia, Roksana Bahramitash
The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, William Easterly
The Fourth Circle: A Political Ecology of Sumatra’s Rainforest Frontier, John F. McCarthy
Fair Trade for All: How Trade Can Promote Development, Joseph E. Stiglitz and Andrew Charlton