Agrarian Capitalism In Theory And Practice

Susan Mann focuses on a longstanding controversy in sociological theory: why has agriculture been traditionally resistant to wage labor? Capitalist develoment has been slower and more uneven in agriculture than in other spheres of production, and major parts of the rural economy remain almost preindustrial in their reliance on family labor, lack of separation between industry and household, and failure to develop a highly specialized division of labor. Emphasizing the agriculture of the American South, Mann adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing insights from history and economics as well as sociology. Mann points out that most theories of agrarian capitalism -- both Marxist and non-Marxist -- ignore the implications of agriculture as a production process centered in nature, with natural features that cannot be synchronized easily into the tempos required by industrial production. She argues that various natural and technical features of agricultural production, such as the relatively lengthy production time of certain crops and the irregular labor requirements imposed by seasonal production, make some types of farming particularly risky avenues for capitalist investment. To test this pioneering theory of natural obstacles to rural capitalist development, Mann creatively combines diverse research methodologies. Analyzing U.S. Agricultural Census data, she shows the correlations between type of agricultural commodity or crop produced, the natural and technical features of these rural commodities, and the use of wage labor. Using an historical-comparative approach, she investigates the persistence of nonwage labor in American cotton production after the Civil War. She examines why sharecropping, rather than wage labor, replaced slavery in the older cotton-producing regions of the southeastern United States. She then discusses the domestic and international factors that finally led to the demise of sharecropping and the rise of wage labor in the decades following the Great Depression. In this historical study of the rise and demise of sharecropping, the interplay between nature, gender, race, and class is highlighted. By closely examining both natural and social obstacles to wage labor within the context of a global economy, Mann presents not only an intriguing analysis of agrarian capitalist development but also an entirely new framework for examining the social history of the American South. Originally published in 1990. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

Fifty years after the publication of Eric Wolf’s celebrated Peasant Wars of the Twentieth Century, and forty years after the publication of his path-breaking Europe and the People Without History, this book offers a much-needed critical assessment and update of Wolf’s contribution to the study of the peasantry and its relationship to capitalism, the state, and imperialism. This book provides a comprehensive evaluation of Wolf’s premises, methodology, and understanding of the peasantry, and its relationship to the rise of capitalism and the modern state. The authors analyse Wolf’s theoretical approach and, by building on his work in Europe and the People Without History especially, argue their own position concerning the dynamics of the peasantry in relation to capitalism, state, class, and imperialism. Further, the text aims to answer the agrarian question more widely, focusing on agrarian society and the political role of the peasantry in contested transitions to capitalism and to modes beyond capitalism. This requires, the authors argue, an analysis of class struggle and of the resources, material and discursive, that different classes can bring to bear on this struggle. Based on well-founded theoretical premises, the book focuses on the contested rise of capitalism in the global North, the development of core–periphery relations in the global political economy, and the place of the peasantry in these dynamics. The book presents case studies of transitions to agrarian capitalism in the British Isles, France, Germany, Japan, and the USA. The book will be of great interest to students and researchers in the areas of peasant studies, rural politics, agrarian studies, development, and political ecology.

The work of A. V. Chayanov is today drawing more attention among Western scholars than ever before. Largely ignored in his native Russia because they differed from Marxist-Leninist theory, and neglected in the West for more than forty years, Chayanov's sophisticated theories were at last published in English in 1966. That trenchant is reprinted in this Wisconsin paperback edition, which includes a new introduction by the sociologist Teodor Shanin, of the University of Manchester, one of the world's leading Chayanov scholars. The Wisconsin edition will be essential reading for political scientists, anthropologists, and all whose interests include peasant studies, Third World development, and women's studies. "The past two decades have seen the emergence of a whole new field called 'peasant studies' and, along with those of Karl Marx, Chayanov's ideas have been central to its development. . . . The publishers are to be commended for re-issuing the book with both old and new introductions and making it available as an affordable paperback for students. The work is a classic."--Times Higher Education Supplement

This is a comparative study of Wendell Berry's theory of New Agrarian economics in contrast with other agrarian proposals, as well as communist, capitalist and feudal economic theories. The argument for an agrarian world has both similarities and sharp contrasts with Marxist communism, industrial capitalism, and classic feudalism. Agrarianism can be seen more clearly when it is contrasted and shown as having existed in parallel with each of these stages of economic world development. As the world quickly grows in the direction of overpopulation and pollution, a re-evaluation is needed of the previously used sustainability methods that have kept humanity in balance with the earth for millennia. As resources continue to become scarcer, those who can support themselves independently from mass-agricultural ventures might have a survival advantage. And this advantage should be explored before the world reaches a catastrophic phase. As the American farming population shrinks further below one percent of the overall population, this is a crucial moment to consider if agrarianism and agriculture itself should retain a central role in American political theory or if it should fade into the past."In strikingly honest terms, Dr. Faktorovich shares a chastened and sincere study of a utopian economics envisioned by a poet of the natural world. With her concluding image of knitting as an act conjuring warmth, nostalgia and consolation, as well as reminding us of the haptic poetry of tactile work, she delivers with picturesque detail and a hint of melancholy, an answer that is deeply true." -Catherine Corman, creator of photography collection, Daylight Noir"I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It's a concise, well-written, detailed work of economic history and theory that accomplishes its two goals of situating Wendell Berry and New Agrarianism in history, and considering the practicality of these ideas in the modern world. Faktorovich has indeed written a textbook for the student of agrarian economics, but she has done more: she has crafted an elegant and accessible history of economic thought. Her book is necessary for any reader of Wendell Berry, but also for thoughtful people from all disciplines with an interest in money, time, and the good life." -OnlineBookClub.orgDr. Anna Faktorovich is the Director and Founder of the Anaphora Literary Press. She previously taught for over four years at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and the Middle Georgia State College. She has a Ph.D. in English Literature and Criticism, an MA in Comparative Literature, and a BA in Economics. She published two academic books with McFarland: Rebellion as Genre in the Novels of Scott, Dickens and Stevenson (2013) and The Formulas of Popular Fiction: Elements of Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Religious and Mystery Novels (2014).

This study is an investigation into US political development as it emerged to deal with agrarian resistance to the transition to capitalism and agro-industrial development.

Scott Prudham investigates a region that has in recent years seen more environmental conflict than perhaps anywhere else in the country--the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. Prudham employs a political economic approach to explain the social and economic conflicts arising from the timber industry's presence in the region. As well, he provides a thorough accounting of the timber industry itself, tracing its motivations, practices, and labor relations.

A Companion to Economic Geography presents students of human geography with an essential collection of original essays providing a key to understanding this important subdiscipline. The contributions are written by prominent international scholars offering a wide-ranging overview of the field. Places economic geography in the wider context of geography. Contributions from leading international scholars in the field. Presents a comprehensive, up-to-date and accessible overview of all the major themes in the field. Explores key debates, controversies and questions using a variety of historical and theoretical vantage points. Charts the important work that has been done in recent years and looks forward to new developments in the global economy.