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State, class, and technology in tobacco production

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  • Gary Green

Abstract

Recent debates over the persistence of family farms have focused on the importance of “naturalistic” obstacles to the capitalist development of agriculture. According to these arguments, the existence of these barriers in some realms of agricultural production precludes the development of wage labor. I argue, however, that in many instances these obstacles are based primarily on political factors. To demonstrate this thesis I illustrate how the tobacco program until recently has proved to be an obstacle to consolidation and structural change in tobacco production. The tobacco program has conditioned the extent of technological development and structural change in tobacco production. From the 1940s to the 1970s, the tobacco program maintained a system of small-scale producers and discouraged technological change in the industry. Changes in the program in the 1970s and 1980s, however, have contributed to the rapid mechanization and structural change among tobacco producers. Many of the “obstacles” to consolidation were overcome not by technological change, but by weakened political support for the tobacco program. These results suggest that in addition to economic and technological considerations, we need to assess more carefully the political foundations of the capitalist development of agriculture. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 1989

Suggested Citation

  • Gary Green, 1989. "State, class, and technology in tobacco production," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 6(4), pages 54-61, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:6:y:1989:i:4:p:54-61
    DOI: 10.1007/BF02217814
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kenneth Finegold, 1982. "From Agrarianism to Adjustment: The Political Origins of New Deal Agricultural Policy," Politics & Society, , vol. 11(1), pages 1-27, March.
    2. Grise, Verner N., 1981. "Trends in Flue-Cured Tobacco Farming," Agricultural Economic Reports 307904, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Theda Skocpol, 1980. "Political Response to Capitalist Crisis: Neo-Marxist Theories of the State and the Case of the New Deal," Politics & Society, , vol. 10(2), pages 155-201, March.
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