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Henry Bernstein argues that class dynamics should be the starting point of any analysis of agrarian change. Providing an accessible introduction to agrarian political economy, he shows clearly how the argument for "bringing class back in" provides an alternative to inherited conceptions of the agrarian question. He also ably illustrates what is at stake in different ways of thinking about class dynamics and the effects of agrarian change in today's globalized world.

Henry Bernstein argues that class dynamics should be the starting point of any analysis of agrarian change. Providing an accessible introduction to agrarian political economy, he shows clearly how the argument for "bringing class back in" provides an alternative to inherited conceptions of the agrarian question. He also ably illustrates what is at stake in different ways of thinking about class dynamics and the effects of agrarian change in today's globalized world

This text is based on the presentation at the roundtable in memory of Teodor Shanin (Moscow, 23 October 2020) and on the recent author's paper in press, which surveys Shanin's work of the 1970s and 1980s. The author provides a guide to tracing Shanin''s main themes and issues. First, the family farm is usually if not invariably featured first in Shanin's characterizations of peasants as a general or generic type. Second, Shanin sought explanations of peasant household reproduction in his model of 'multidirectional and cyclical mobility' against the 'biological determinism' linked to the organization-production school and against the 'economic determinism' of Marxists. Third, Shanin emphasized "life of a small community within which most of the peasant needs of social living and social reproduction can be met", but he aimed to avoid a romantic view of the mir. Fourth, Shanin believed that "the definitions of peasantry, which view it as representing an aspect of the past surviving in the modern world, seem, on the whole, valid", and that rural society can be understood in terms of labour and capital flows which are broader than agriculture. Fifth, Shanin wrote that the triple origins of Marx's analytical thought suggested by Engels - German philosophy, French socialism and British political economy - should be supplemented by the Russian revolutionary populism. Sixth, Shanin argued that the concept of 'peasant mode of production' had too many heuristic limitations to be sustained. Finally, Shanin's vision of an alternative to both capitalist development and the projects of Soviet style was firmly rooted in the legacy of Chayanov.

AbstractThis brief paper suggests some puzzles, lacunae and questions concerning four of the key terms in Jason Moore's

This short essay begins by revisiting John Saul's landmark article in the first issue of theReview of African Political Economyin 1974, which was, inevitably, very much of its historical moment. The author suggests that Saul used an ideal-typical conception of 'peasants' combined with a particular view of 'incomplete' capitalism established by colonial rule in Africa and continuing since political independence. He then proposes, in highly selective and abbreviated fashion, an alternative approach to understanding the social conditions of existence of African 'peasants' and the politics of Africa's agrarian questions. He illustrates his argument with special reference to the current moment of globalisation and neoliberalism. 'Globalisation' serves as shorthand for the restructuring of capital on a world scale since the 1970s (and not least 'financialisation'), while he uses 'neoliberalism' to refer to the political and ideological project of promoting the interests of capital in such restructuring at the expense of the interests of labour. He concludes with some broad historical theses about 'African Peasants and Revolution'.

Questo articolo delinea e illustra un quadro teorico per indagare le dinamiche di classe rurali del capitalismo. Idee chiave di analisi in questo contesto comprendono: (i) la mercificazione delle condizioni di riproduzione del lavoro; (ii) un cambiamento sistemico dalla coltivazione all'agricoltura nel capitalismo moderno consolidatosi a partire dagli anni settanta dell'ottocento; (iii) la piccola produzione di beni agricoli per il mercato e (iv) la differenziazione dei piccoli produttori. Queste idee sono combinate in cinque tesi sul destino molto dibattuto dei contadini nel mondo moderno che generano ulteriori concetti di "capitale agrario al di lŕ della campagna", "agricoltura al di lŕ della fattoria", e "'lavoro rurale al di lŕ della fattoria". L'articolo conclude con l'argomento che molti di coloro definiti come "contadini" o "piccoli agricoltori", in particolare nel Sud, sono meglio compresi come una componente importante delle "classi del lavoro". Questo č illustrato con dati aggregati sull'occupazione in agricoltura e la quota di popolazione rurale adulta che svolge attivitŕ agricola per conto proprio quale attivitŕ economica primaria nelle principali regioni del Sud.