Author : Jan Douwe van der Ploeg
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1136552936
Total Pages : 386 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (365 download)
Book Synopsis The New Peasantries by : Jan Douwe van der Ploeg
Download or read book The New Peasantries written by Jan Douwe van der Ploeg and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-05-23 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the position, role and significance of the peasantry in an era of globalization, particularly of the agrarian markets and food industries. It argues that the peasant condition is characterized by a struggle for autonomy that finds expression in the creation and development of a self-governed resource base and associated forms of sustainable development. In this respect the peasant mode of farming fundamentally differs from entrepreneurial and corporate ways of farming. The author demonstrates that the peasantries are far from waning. Instead, both industrialized and developing countries are witnessing complex and richly chequered processes of 're-peasantization', with peasants now numbering over a billion worldwide. The author's arguments are based on three longitudinal studies (in Peru, Italy and The Netherlands) that span 30 years and provide original and thought-provoking insights into rural and agrarian development processes. The book combines and integrates different bodies of literature: the rich traditions of peasant studies, development sociology, rural sociology, neo-institutional economics and the recently emerging debates on Empire.