Suchergebnisse

As the state has moved back to the centre of analysis of political change and conflict, increasing attention has focused on its rôle in forming new classes and in structuring the possibilities of class action. As Nelson Kasfir notes, both Marx and Weber 'saw the vital role the state could play in consolidating the class position of a dominant social group'.1Neither, however, saw the state as the inherent locus of the process of class formation and of class domination. For Marx, the state was typically the instrument of a ruling class whose origin and basis was in control over the means of production. For Weber, power, class, and status were potentially independent dimensions of stratification.

A brief analysis of occup & Uc formation in Nigeria is provided as an aid to a general study of soc stratification in Africa. The influence of occup on the formation of an elite in Nigeria is examined. A personal-interview survey by the author during a field trip to Nigeria in 1957-58 provides the data. The sample pop consisted of 156 selected individuals from various professions ranging from educator & lawyer to gov admin'or, clerk, politician, farmer & clergyman. 113 persons interviewed were gov officials or office holders, not including clerical employees of gov instit's. The largest single occup was that of educator, both in teaching & administration on all levels. The 2nd largest group consisted of 25 lawyers, the 3rd of businessmen, & the 4th of 'traditional rulers.' The prestige of the various professions in Nigeria & the SC categories into which their members generally belong are discussed briefly. It is stated that as yet very little is known about the new class patterns in modern Ur'ized Africa. Because of the increasing importance of Africa to the world in general, this area of res needs to be expanded. M. Maxfield.

SUMMARY Bangladesh has been erroneously attributed a homogeneous agrarian structure by unwarranted extrapolation from surveys made in Comilla district. Data from the 1940s suggests greater differentiation in the North and West. This was compounded by the control of East Bengal by West Pakistan which resulted in a counter‐productive drain of the rural surplus, so restricting capital to the 'antediluvian' forms used in moneylending, trade or land leasing, rather than capital used in productive agriculture. The development of the petty bourgeoisie and landlords was thereby restricted and the emergence of an East Bengali bourgeoisie prevented.RESUME Formation de classes et capital "antédiluvien" au BangladeshOn a, à tort, établi une structure agraire homogène au Bangladesh en extrapolant sans raison à partir d enquêtes menées dans la région de Comilla. Des données datant des années 40 suggèrent une différenciation plus marquée entre le Nord et l'Ouest. C'était le résultat du contrôle du Bengale oriental par le Pakistan occidental imposant drainage contre‐productif des surplus ruraux, limitant ainsi l'utilisation de capitaux aux formes "antédiluviennes" des prêts de fonds, du commerce et des baux à ferme, plutôt que l'investissement dans une agriculture productrice. Le développement de la petite bourgeoisie et de propriétaires fut ainsi limitée et la formation d'une bourgeoisie dans le Bengale oriental entravée.RESUMEN Formación de Clases y Capital "Antidiluviano" en BangladeshErróneamente se ha atribuido a Bangladesh una estructura agraria homogénea por una extrapolación incorrecta de los estudios llevados a cabo en el distrito de Comilla. Datos obtenidos en la década de 1940 sugieren una mayor diferenciación en el norte y oeste. Esto fue complicado cuando el control de Bengala del Este pasó a Pakistan Occidental, que resultó en una pérdida contraproductiva de los excedentes rurales, restringiendo asi el capital disponible a las formas "antidiluvianas" de préstamo, comercio o alquiler de terrenos en lugar de capital para usar en la agricultura productiva. De esta forma se limitó la aparición de una pequeña burgesia y pequeños terratenientes, evitando que surgiera una burgesía en Bengala del Este.

Contrary to frequently expressed hopes and expectations, there is a recurring argument by some theorists in the Marxian tradition that the typical structures and processes of capitalist democracy actively obstruct the political organization of workers as a class. This essay brings together various aspects of this argument, especially as developed in the works of Lukács, Pashukanis, Poulantzas, Przeworski, and Katznelson. The thesis ultimately calls into question the sense in which "classes" exist under conditions of capitalist democracy, the usefulness of focusing on "class formation" as a vehicle for socialist theory, and the electoral road to socialism in general.

At least since the beginning of this century, access to education has been the proximate determinant of class differentiation in Tanzania, and in much of Africa. Despite several initiatives to overcome this legacy of European rule, perhaps more sharply focused in Tanzania than in many other African countries, education and class situation continue to be firmly linked.

This article explores issues of agricultural change as they have been played out in the Lufira Valley in south‐eastern Shaba. It indicates some of the interconnections between peasants, the State and capitalist class interests, showing how measures taken in favour of capitalist enterprise contribute to deepening underdevelopment of the peasantry. It also casts doubt upon the assumption that capitalism — monopoly, state or private — can lead to development of productive forces in agriculture. A re‐examination of this issue is pertinent in view of recent Left criticism of 'underdevelopment' theory and the notion that African development is being advanced by national bourgeoisies.

This paper will argue that within actually-existing neoliberal capitalism today there are crucial contradictions which cannot be overcome. Among these are the inability to generate sufficient employment, inequality on a global scale, the continuation of imperialism and imperialist wars, continued enclosure and pauperization, ecological crises, overproduction and under consumption, the enormous waste of human potential on a global scale, and the forging of a global working class which is in an ever more precarious position. At the same time, neoliberalism tends to fragment consciousness, drowning class awareness in a sea of consumerism, which is making organizing and class struggle more difficult. Resistance tends to take perverted or alienated forms as seen in religious fundamentalism, ethnic chauvinism and random terrorist acts, often in reaction to state terrorism. The ruling classes encourage these tendencies to help divert attention from the crucial contradictions of exploitation under capitalism and imperialism. At the same time, the tools of propaganda in the global media have become more pervasive. Unable to deal with these contradictions, the powers at the helm of the global economy, following the reigning ideology, claim that the solution is more and deeper neoliberalism, which can only further exacerbate the crises. Neoliberalism, as we know, is not liberal and not new. It is statist, in the service of capital. Its adherents recognize that democracy slows capital accumulation. It is class struggle from above against workers and poor around the world. Some indications of the unfolding global crisis of actually-existing capitalism will be observed below, followed by some observations about the process of class formation on a global scale. While the "essential product," the working class, is being formed on a global scale, the essential and unified class struggle has yet to emerge. While new and creative forms of class struggle are emerging, the theoretical historical process of transition to socialism, some superior and more rational economic system, remains uncertain. Clearly the seminal minds of socialist thought in the nineteenth century underestimated the difficulties of this dialectical movement. Actually existing capitalism, while brutal, bleeding and wounded, could not be brought down by the massive efforts to build alternative societies during the twentieth century. While this is the challenge of contemporary history, during and beyond the age of neoliberalism, and might prevent the onrushing demise of the human species, through weapons of mass annihilation, such considerations have today largely been buried beneath the 'end of history' ideology of the neoliberal era. The global population, it seems, is being herded, lemming-like, in an opposite direction, toward an unseen sharp precipice. Adapted from the source document.