Dominant Classes And The State In Development

Why does capitalist development give rise to political alliances between the state and certain economically dominant classes? Addressing this question, Professor Banerjee uses an evolutionary approach to social structure to develop a theory of the interaction within and among business and manufacturing firms--a theory that highlights those aspects of market processes that promote the formation of dominant economic classes. Structural-evolutionary conceptions of property relations and of state planning and regulation are developed and combined with the market model. According to Professor Banerjee, the market, property relations, and state administration form a self-sustaining structure that simultaneously develops the economy in an uneven and clustered fashion and gives rise to a "dominant alliance" between a segment of the state and the fastest-accumulating classes in the economy. He applies his model to India during the 1956-1975 period, examining the industrialization process of the Second and Third plans, the crisis of the mid-1960s, and the Green Revolution.

This book focuses on the role of the state in economic development in a variety of Third World settings through an in-depth analysis of the past several decades. Berberoglu examines three major alternative development theories: developmentalism, dependency, and neo-Marxist. He then critically analyzes these theories and their variants to set the stage for a detailed examination of various development paths. Two paths of capitalist development are contrasted: the export-oriented neo-colonial model and the import-substituting state-capitalist model. The role of the state in each of these alternatives is discussed in the context of the balance of class forces. Berberoglu also provides case studies of Turkey, Tanzania, Peru, and India -- countries in which the state played a significant role in the development process. In each case, he demonstrates that the process of state-capitalist development inevitably leads to neo-colonialism. This export-oriented path ties Third World countries to centers of world capitalism, with all the consequent contradictions that such a linkage entails. The book outlines the class nature of these contradictions on a global scale and maps out the balance of class forces and struggles, the role of the state, and the resultant revolutionary developments that are part of the process of social change and transformation now under way in many Third World countries. Also included is an appendix highlighting the need for a class-centered approach in development studies.

Following independence, most countries in Africa sought to develop, but their governments pursued policies that actually undermined their rural economies. Examining the origins of Africa’s “growth tragedy,” Markets and States in Tropical Africa has for decades shaped the thinking of practitioners and scholars alike. Robert H. Bates’s analysis now faces a challenge, however: the revival of economic growth on the continent. In this edition, Bates provides a new preface and chapter that address the seeds of Africa’s recovery and discuss the significance of the continent’s success for the arguments of this classic work.

In the contemporary global context replete with various forms of development crises, there is a growing demand for an alternative perspective. Haque explains the nature and forms of these current development crises, critiques the inadequacies of existing development theories to address such crises, restructures these theories into an alternative theoretical perspective, and suggests specific policy guidelines for attaining a genuine mode of development. He interprets development not as human conformity with any hegemonic development schemes, but as human autonomy from various forms and levels of subjugation. The book presents original arguments, covers up-to-date literature, adopts a multidisciplinary approach, mediates between theories and policies, and offers a comprehensive development alternative.

Monograph on development theories of underdevelopment and social theory of social change in developing countries, particularly Latin America - examines sociological coverage of Third World social development issues, obstacles to implementation of ECLAC's economic development policies, imperialism and dependence, social structures and rural area social class relations, political systems, role of the state and armed forces, etc., and describes peasant movements as well as socialist and bourgeois revolutions. Bibliography pp. 164 to 170.

The world economy is expanding rapidly despite chronic economic crises. Yet the majority of the world's population live in poverty. Why are wealth and poverty two sides of the coin of capitalist development? What can be done to overcome this destructive dynamic? In this hard-hitting analysis Benjamin Selwyn shows how capitalism generates widespread poverty, gender discrimination and environmental destruction. He debunks the World Bank's dollar-a-day methodology for calculating poverty, arguing that the proliferation of global supply chains is based on the labour of impoverished women workers and environmental ruin. Development theories – from neoliberal to statist and Marxist – are revealed as justifying and promoting labouring class exploitation despite their pro-poor rhetoric. Selwyn also offers an alternative in the form of labour-led development, which shows how collective actions by labouring classes – whether South African shack-dwellers and miners, East Asian and Indian Industrial workers, or Latin American landless labourers and unemployed workers – can and do generate new forms of human development. This labour-led struggle for development can empower even the poorest nations to overcome many of the obstacles that block their way to more prosperous and equitable lives.

This book examines development theory from a political persepctive. It considers modernisation theory and public policy, as well as Marxism, the state, and the third world.

Looks at the nuances of land and resource politics and summarizes the long-standing land acquisition and mining debate.