Category Archives: Land

Elements for a Theory of the Frontier

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

I had planned on discussing some texts on what I like to call “actually existing primitive accumulation,” but due to the exigencies of something I’m writing, I’m first going to plow through some stuff on frontiers—slippery little things. Raffestin, Claude. … Continue reading →

Posted in Boundaries, Frontiers, Land, Law, Maps, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Sovereignty, Spatiality, The State | Comments Off on Elements for a Theory of the Frontier

Some Aspects of the Southern Question

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Gramsci, Antonio. 1926. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question.” From Antonio Gramsci: Pre-Prison Writings (1994), edited by Richard Bellamy and translated by Virgina Cox. “Some Aspects of the Southern Question” is an incredible essay. Antonio Gramsci was arrested as he … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Antonio Gramsci, Hegemony, Historical Materialism, Historical-Geographies, Land, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Power, Spatiality, The State | Comments Off on Some Aspects of the Southern Question

The Origin of Capitalism

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Wood, Ellen Meiksins. 2002. The Origin of Capitalism: A Longer View. London: Verso. Ellen Meiksins Wood critiques accounts about the origin of capitalism—across the political spectrum, including Marxist’s—for overlooking the begging questions about what really drove the emergence of capitalism. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Law, Marxism, Political Economy, Power, Spatiality | Comments Off on The Origin of Capitalism

Class Dynamics of Agrarian Change

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Bernstein, Henry. 2010. Class Dynamics of Agrarian Change. Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press Drawing from the Journal of Agrarian Change, Henry Bernstein defines agrarian political economy as investigating “the social relations and dynamics of production and reproduction, property and power in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Gender, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Political Economy, Primitive Accumulation | 1 Comment

Theory of Peasant Cooperatives

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Chayanov, Alexander. 1991. The Theory of Peasant Cooperatives. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. [Intro and pp. 1-52.] In these chapters, Alexander Chayanov revisits some of the same ground as Lenin and Kautsky, but he does so with a much more … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Land, Marxism, Political Economy | 2 Comments

The Agrarian Question

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Kautsky, Karl. 1988. The Agrarian Question, Vol I. London: Zwan Publications. Karl Kautsky’s classic The Agrarian Question explores the impact of capitalism on agrarian society, role of agriculture in the course of capitalist development, and the political role (or lack … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Marxism, Political Economy | 10 Comments

The Development of Capitalism in Russia

Posted on June 9, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Lenin, V.I. 1977. The Development of Capitalism in Russia. Moscow: Progress Publishers. [Ch. 1-4] The progression of these four chapters is as follows: first, Lenin reviews some theoretical issues of political economy around the development of a home market in … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Historical Materialism, Karl Marx, Land, Marxism, Nation/Nationalism, Political Economy | 3 Comments

The Trinity Formula

Posted on June 8, 2011 by Teo Ballvé

Marx, Karl. 1967. Capital, Vol. III. New York: International Publishers. [Ch. 48] The chapter is simply titled, “The Trinity Formula.” I was interested in this chapter from Volume III of Capital for two reasons. The first reason is its importance … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Critique, Everyday Life, Henri Lefebvre, Karl Marx, Land, Marxism, Political Economy, Spatiality | 1 Comment