Abstract
The paper examines the social contradictions generated by patterns of reproduction of accumulation of capital, social legitimation and by present agricultural policies fostered by the State. Through a scrutiny of the role of the State in capitalism it is argued that agricultural overproduction, the widening of the gap between small and large farms, the fiscal crisis of the State associated with agricultural programs and waste of resources are the outcomes of an attempt on the part of the State to promote simultaneously accumulation and legitimation. The possibility of enhancing accumulation and maintaining legitimation clashes with the diverse socio-economic demands associated with the present agricultural production system and the general viability of the social structure as a whole.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Bibliography
Block, F. 1977 “The Ruling Class Does not Rule.”Socialist Revolution 7:6–28.
Block, F. 1980 “Beyond Relative Autonomy: State Managers as Historical Subjects.” In R. Miliband and J. Saville (eds.)Socialist Register. London: Merlin Press.
Bonanno, A. 1987Small Farms: Persistence with Legitimation. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press.
Buttel, F and W. Flinn 1975 “Sources and Consequences of Agrarian Values in American Society.”Rural Sociology, 40: 134–151.
Carnoy, M. 1984The State and Political Theory. Princeton NJ: Princeton University Press.
Clout, D. H. 1976The Regional Problem in Western Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Coughenour, C. M. 1977 “Attitudes of Kentucky Farmers About Farming, Values, Aspirations, Goals and Management.” Lexington: University of Kentucky, Agricultural Experiment Station.
Danbom, D. 1979The Resisted Revolution. Ames: Iowa State Press.
Donhoff, G. W. 1967Who Rules America? Englewood Cliffs NJ.: Prentice Hall.
Fabiani, G. 1979L'Agricoltura Italiana Tra Sviluppo e Crisis. Bologna: Il Mulino.
Green, G. 1987 “The Political Economy of Flue-Cured Tobacco Production.”Rural Sociology, 2:221–241.
Heffernan, J. and W. Heffernan 1985a “The Effects of the Agricultural Crisis on the Health and Lives of Farm Families.” Columbia, Mo. University of Missouri, Dept. of Rural Sociology.
Heffernan, J. and W. Heffernan 1985b Testimony Prepared for a Hearing of the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress of the United States (September, 17, 1985). Columbia, Mo. University of Missouri, Dept. of Rural Sociology.
Lappè, F. M. and J. Collins 1979Food First: The Myth of Scarcity. New York: Ballantine.
Mann, S. and J. Dickinson 1980 “State and Agriculture in two Eras of American Capitalism.” In F. Buttel and H. Newby (eds.)The Rural Sociology of the Advanced Societies. Mointclair, NJ.: Allanheld, Osmum.
Miliband, R. 1969The State in Capitalist Society. London: Winfield and Nicholson.
Miliband, R. 1970 “The Capitalist State: Reply to Nicos Poulantzas.”New Left Review, 59:83–92.
Mingione, E. 1987 “The Role of the State in Italian Agriculture.” Paper presented at the 50th annual RSS Meeting. Madison, WI. August.
Moreira Belo, M. 1987 “The State and Land Reform in Portugal.” Paper presented at the 50th annual RSS Meeting. Madison, WI. August.
Mottura, G. and E. Pugliese 1975Agricoltura Mezzogiorno e Mercato del Lavoro. Bologna: Il Mulino.
O'Connor, J. 1973The Fiscal Crisis of the State. New York: St. Martin's Press.
O'Connor, J. 1974The Corporation and the State: Essay in the Theory of Capitalism and Imperialism. New York: Harper and Row.
Offe, C. 1985Disorganized Capital. Cambridge Ma.: The MIT Press.
Offe, C. and V. Ronge 1979 “Theses on the Theory of the State.” In J. W. Freiberg (ed.)Critical Sociology. New York: Irvington Publishers.
Piven, F. and R. Cloward 1977Poor People's Movements. Why They Succeed, How They fail. New York: Pantheon Books.
Poulantzas, N. 1969 “The Problem of the Capitalist State.”New Left Review 58:67–78.
Poulantzas, N. 1975Classes in Contemporary Capitalism. London: New Left Review.
Poulantzas, N. 1978State, Power and Socialism. London: New Left Review.
Poulantzas, N. 1979 “The Political Crisis and the Crisis of the State.” In J. W. Freiberg (ed.)Critical Sociology. New York: Irvington Publishers.
Schroeder, E., F. C. Fligel and J. C. Van Es 1985 “Measurement of the Lifestyle Dimensions of Farming for Small Scale Farmers.”Rural Sociology 3:305–322.
Thomas, R. J. 1985Citizenship, Gender, and Work: Social Organization of Industrial Agriculture. Berkeley: University of California Press.
US Bureau of the Census 1986Statistical Abstract of the United States: 1987. (107th edition) Washington, D.C.
Zeller, A. 1970L'imbroglio Agricole du Marche' Commun. Paris: Calmann-Levy.
Additional information
Alessandro Bonanno is assistant professor of Rural Sociology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. His primary areas of interest include Sociology of Agriculture, Regional/International Development and the Role of the State. He is also the author ofSmall Farms: Persistence with Legitimation. Boulder, Co.: Westview Press, 1987.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bonanno, A. Agricultural policies and the capitalist State. Agric Hum Values 4, 40–46 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530640
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01530640