Introduction: Shaping the New Political Economy of Advanced Capitalist Agriculture

Abstract

The discussion the turns to a consideration of the intellectual substance of the new political economy of agriculture, assessing die parameters of the field and some of the topical areas that are emerging but which were not encompassed in the Madison miniconference. Related to the changes in global economies and agricultural production, something new is occurring in the analysis of agriculture, specifically in the political economy of capitalist agriculture. The political economy of new relations within global capitalism requires an examination of the transitions which began long before the immediate historical era, from polyglot local farming practices to concentrated corporate-capitalist agricultural production. Experience following the second world war could hardly have been more different Entering an imperial phase in which US hegemony became global; die agricultural capability of the United States became an integral part of its mission: food became a political weapon. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.