Agrarian change and Peasant studies series ictare and dynamics of peasant farms and the historically highly variable relations that govern the processes of labour and production. ‘within peasant farms Jan Douiwe van der Ploeg angus that peasant agriculane ‘an play an important, ifnot central, role in augmenting food production and ‘eating sustainability, However, peasants today, as inthe past are materially neglected. By building toaddress this neglect struggles for food, food Pp 0 andthe rt of Forming: A Chayenoian Manet ocie on te nw important peasants are inthe ongoing. lity and food sovereignty. ‘Timely presentation of Chayanovs theory of agriculture elaborating father balances af labour consumption, drudgery and ult a the rots of peasant sratepes of sur iva Returning issues of chotce int the centre of human knowledge about humans ~ Teodor Shanin, Moscow School of Social and Economie Sciences “The author’ grasp of theory history, the emy ‘wn place-based research would all be re cep connection to farming nso d and developing countries, gives particular force {0 the power ofhis argumentation. - Tony Weis, University of Western Ontario ‘of rural sociology at Wageningen ina Agricultural Universityin Bejing, Intstivesin Critical Agrariz Fernwood Publishing www pioneering work of Chayanoy, this book seeks.PEASANTS AND THE ART OF FARMING A CHAYANOVIAN MANIFESTO Jan Douwe van der Ploeg Ackamian cance ano PeRSANT STUDIES SERIES Fernwood Publishing iifaxand Winnipeg BIBLIOTECA LUIS GONZALRE a150026 Copyright © 2013 Jan Doewe van dee Ploeg Allright eserved No put ofthis bok by be epodced or tans in Cover design Joh an der Woade ding: Manne Wr Printed and boandin Femi Publishing Company Limited ofthe Goverareent of anata throogh “Mantas, though the Book Publishing Tax Co fo our pulsing progran BSS Manito Library an Archi Ploeg en Douwe Petts Cataloging a Publication 1950 Inches bibliographical ferences and index ISBN9781-Ss266565-7 1 Pessants. 2 Agihunl ptm 3, Suna agrictae HDIS2LPS62015 3055193 CROL39014853 offing: Chayanovan mann Jan Doss va der Ploeg Contents {CAS Aparon Change ond Pst Ste Ses —— Acknowledgements. Pref e 1 Peasants and Social Transformations on. A Proof ofPedigre 2. The Two Main Balances Identified by Chaya 0¥ meme 23 The Pes Prodction: No Wages, No Capit nnn 24 ‘he Labour Consumer Balanes Same cal Relevance ofthe Labour- Consume Balance mvnns34 ‘The Scent Relevance of the Labour-Consumer Bale nn 3S “he Balance of tity snd Drudgery... ive Bvalaation’ 3. AWider Array of Interacting Balan¢2&.ecnenome ‘The Balance between People and Living Natu wenn een 48 ‘The Balance of Production and Reproduction, most ‘The Balance of internal and External Resources nnn S6 ‘The Balance of Autonomy and Depend ansnnmnonn 60 “The Balance of Seale and Intensity (end the Emer Fighting for? By Way of Synthesis: The Peasant FA err ‘A Final Note on Differentition TT LI STEStat-Peasantzy Relations eae “The Balance of Agrarian Growl and Demographe Growth 87 of Repensantzaton es Europe: Resting the Balances. 1 a 132 snes AB ICAS Agrarian Change and Peasant Studies Series ‘The Agrarian Change and Peasant Studies Series by the Initiatives in CCitical Agrarian Studies (reas) features state ofthe artsmall books om big issues? each of which explain a specific development issue based onkey questions. The quest Issuesand debatesin the particular topic? Who are and developed over time? What are the possible fu “What are the key reference mates ental donor agencies, students, acadent- ics, researchers and policy experts to critically engage with the key points explained in the book? Each book combines theoretical and policy-oriented discussion with empirical examples from diferent national and local settings. In the book series initiative, the overarching theme, “agrarian change” binds scholars, activists and development practitioners from diverse disciplines and from all parts of the world “Agrarian change’ is meant inits broadest sense, refering to an agrarian-rural- agricultural world that is not de-linked from, but rather taken in the context of, other sectors and geographies: industrial and urban, among others. The focusis on contributing to our understanding of the dynamics of "change"; meaning playing a role not only in (te) interpreting the agrarian world in various waysbut also in changingit —witha lear bias forthe working clases, for the poor. The agrarian ‘world hasbeen profoundly transformed by the contemporary process ‘of neoliberal globalization, demanding new ways of understanding structural nd institutional conditions, 2s wells new visions ofhow to change these. ‘The Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies sa worldwide com ‘munity oflike-minded scholars, development practitioners and activ- | | |Peasans ano Tt oF eanming {sts who are working on agrarian iseues. The 1¢ASisa common, 4 common space for critical scholars, development pra and movement activists. Iti a pluralist initiative, allowing vibrant ‘exchanges of views from different progressive ideological perspec: tives. The 1c4s responds to the need for an initiative that builds and focuses on linkages — between academics, development policy Dractitioners and social movement activists; between the world’ North and South, and South and South; between rural-agricultural and urban-industrial sect co-production 1 ICAS promotes cri ing which means that conventional assumptions are interrogated, popular propositions critically examined and new ways question, dng composed, proposed and pursued, The 1cas promotes engaged this emphasizes research and scholarship that are both academicily interesting and socially relevant, and farther implies taking the side of fs financially supported by the Inter Church Organization for Development Cooperation (ico), the Netherlands. The series editors are Saturnino M. Borras Je, Max Spoor and Henry Veltmeyer. Titles in the series are available in multiple languages. ‘To my grandfathers, Jan Douwe and Fokke, forteaching me how to delve to thingsAcknowledgements ‘My thanks goto the peasants of Catacaos, Antapampa and Lachadores in Peru; Guarne, Argelia, Sons6n and Chocé in Colombia; Buba and ‘Tombalfin Guinea Bissau; Reggio Emilia, Parma, Campaniaand Umbria in Italy; Namialo in Mozambique; Mtunaini and Empageni in South Portugal; Sangang in China; Londirina and dreams and explanations, I take sole respo: Lalso am gratefl to Saturnino M. Borras to elaborate this text. Iehank Ye Jingzhong for aranging and attending yearly meetings with Jun Borras, Henry Bernstein and many others. ‘These meetings gave me the courage to undertake the writing ofthis small book on one of the big ideas that needs to be told, re-told and discussed as its relevance has not diminished. I thank Nick Pasrot for ‘the careful editing ofthis text “Thanks also to the folks at Fernwood Publishing for their efforts inbringing this book out: Errol Sharpe for publishing, Matianne Ward for copyediting, Brenda Conroy for text design, Joha van der Woude {foccover design, Beverley Rach for production coordination and Nancy ‘Malek for promotion. They did an excellent job. Preface Peasants and the Art of Farming by Jan Douwe van der Ploegis the sec- ‘ond volume in the Book Series in Agrarian Change by 1s (Initiatives Agrarian Studies); the first volume is Henry Bernsteiis (Class Dynamics of Agrarian Change. Indeed Jan Douwe's volume isthe perfect follow-up to Henry's book. Together, these two books reaffirm ‘the strategic importance and relevance of agrarian politcal economy ‘analytical lenses in agrarian studies today. This combined with the very high world-class quality ofthe books promises that succeeding volumes ntiially rigorous. in Agrarian Change will help put Jan Douwe8 current volume into perspective in elation to the 1CAs intellectual and political project, ‘Today, global poverty remains significantly a rural phenomenon, with three quarters ofthe world’s poor comprised ofthe rural poor Thus the problem ofglobal poverty and the challenge ofending poverty which {samultidimensional issue (economic, politcal, social, cultural, gendes, environmental, and soon), are closely linked tothe resistance of working people in the countryside to the system that generates and continues to reproduce the conditions of rural poverty and the struggles of the rural poor for sustainable livelihoods. A concern for and focus on rural development thus remains: “The challenge sto understand linkagesbetween them, partly because the pathways out of ural poverty paved by neoliberal policies and the efforts by mainstream international financial end development institutions engaged in and leading the war on global povertytoalarge extent simply replace rural with ueban forms of poverty. ‘Themainstream thinking on agrarian studies is generously fin and so ithas been able to dominate the production and; research and studies in agrarian issues. Many of the in asthe World Bank) that propagate this thinking have also beea able to acquire shillsin producing and propagating highly accessible and policy- oriented publications tha are widely disseminated worldwide. CriticalPeASRATS AND TH RT OF enming thinkers in leading academic institutions ate able to and do challenge this mainstream current in many ways but are generally confined to the ied popular reach and impact. t gap inaddressingtheneed of academics 5) Social movement activists and deve sche North for scientifically policy oriented and. In response to this need launching this series of “state ofthe art” small books, books shat arethe curren the key scholars positions emerged and devel trajectories; what are the key reference materials; and why and h is important for wGo professional, social movement activities, official developmentaid cicleand nongovernmental donor agencies, students, academics, researchers and policy experts to critically engage with the ‘key points explained in the book. Each book will combine theoretical and: on with empirical examples from different ‘ational and local settings. tanities and Developinent ofthe ‘China Agricultural University in Beijing coordinated by Ye Jingzhong, the Spanish edition is coordinated ‘Bernardo Mangano Femandes. explanation ofthe context for and objectives ofthe Book fitin terms of theme, accessibility, relevance and rigour. We are excited and optimistic about the bright future ofthe Book Series! Saturnine M. Borra Jr, Max Spoor and Henry Vel Peasants and Social Transformations A Divisive Issue ‘When it comes to the peasant question, the radical left has been deeply divided. In several waysitstills— although there definitely are indicationsin political and scientific debates, in new social mov rents and in socio-material reality itself, that the great increasingly being bridged. And if this sounds too optimis ‘we may probably argue thatthe divide is not so much being bridged but increasingly becoming less relevant (which may also represent away to resolve controversies, especially political ones). The ealier controversies are fading away because we are witnessing, in many places around the world, new developmental tendencies that def rtely go beyond the limits of previous debates. “Historically the main controversies have been strongly associ- ated with two leading spokesmen, Viadimir Lenin and Alexander CChayanov who, in the first decades ofthe twentieth century engaged insharp polemics that reflected different interests and prospects that already had lain dormantin Russian society for long ime and that Arastically came tothe fore inthe aftermath of the 1917 revolution. Atthat time Russia was basically an agrarian nation, Industry made ‘upjust a small partof the national economy. Peasantshugely ootnum bered industrial workers and, although capitalist frm enterprises ‘were emerging (and t jcance was hotly debated), peasants ‘made up the large majority of rural dwellers. Peasant communities provided the framework that regulated everyday life for the major- ity of Russians. Lenin (and more generally, the bolshevists) and Chayanov (representing, in away, the naradnik!) interpreted this reality in diferent ways, taking different positions about the ole of different social groups (particularly the peasantry), which created fierce controversies about the future of Russian societyPEASANTS Ano TH AT OF aRMING Originally, the great divide centred on several, strongly inter- relatedissues. The mostimportant ones concerned, in the rst place, the definition ofthe class position ofthe peasantry — a question that clearly related to practical sues, such as the nature of coalitions and the role different parts ofthe population might play in revolution- ary processes, Second, there was much debate on the stability of peasant-like forms (or “modes") of production (see also Bernstein 2009). Would they inevitably disintegrate, or would it be possible for them to be reproduced over time? Or would there be unequal ‘but combined processes of disappearance and reconstitution? Third, should those engaged inthe transition toward socialism regard peas. ant agriculture as something to be continued or transformed? Are peasant modes of production a promising way to produce food and ‘make significant and substantial contributions to the development ofsocietyasa whole? Orare other forms of production, such aslarge state-controlled cooperatives (be itkolkhozes, people ‘or whatever) far superior? Is the peasantry a hindrance to change, insofar ast wll struggle to block the transition to such supposedly superior forms? Or ightit becomeamain driver ofthe transforma- tions needed inthe countryside? ‘Today, thatis in the beginning ofthe twenty-first century, many cof these questions might seem teribly outdated, especially when they are exclusively linked tothe Russian situation ofthe post 1917 period. Yet, we have to take into account that ‘The controversy was in no way limited to Russia The main spokesmen of that time also referred fo, and tried to integrate into their analyses, diferent experiences from other places: America, Germany (notably Prussia), Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Italy and the Low Countries. Equally, the debate quickly extended to a global one that canged from East to West and from North to South, Wherever power was seized or major regime shifts occurred, the «question was asked whether socialism (or more generally, a better society) could be constructed by giving peasants a prominent role inthe overall process ofrural development. This question arose with insistence, especially in those places where peasants had been in the forefront of revolutionary struggles, from Mexico, to China, Cuba and Vietnam (Wol£1969). In these countries the debates often came Sn SCR TRRSFOMETIONS down to another important question: how should land reform be organized? These were far from just theoretical questions. They were of immediate concern in Mes en and reform was designed and party implemented, In 1974 it was a central concern in Portugal and soon after in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea Bisa, in Cuba ier Castro’ revolution and then agsin in the early 2010s and in (Cina in the second half ofthe 1940s and then again from 1978 onvatd. The same debate emerged in Vietnam in 1954 and 1986, the year of Dot Moi In Japan the debate started afer World War I and never disappeared from the agenda. In the Philippines it was a snajr issue inthe 1950s, was triggered agin by the 1986 elections and intensfed during and afer the Aquino reform of 1988. Latin “Americe witnessed similar debates and, although thee were specific foci time and again (such as the period ofthe Logas Camponesas sn Brazl and the radical Reforma Agraria in Peru) in the end the