Abstract
This review essay examines trends in the multinational literature of books published on the theme of peasants and globalization in Latin America between 1990 and 2001 and cataloged by the Library of Congress. It organizes the literature by countries covered as well as by theoretical approaches. It demonstrates the influence of contending paradigms regarding the future of peasantries and argues that most books defend the notion that globalization has not eliminated but actually helped strengthen peasant survival.
Highlights
In 1978, Ernest Feder described the peasant as a “species” made nearly “extinct” by globalization
With great vigor and wit he argued that agribusiness would soon “eliminate” the Latin American peasantry and denounced the complicity of all those academics who refused to write about this certainty and the very real survival problems faced by peasants as a consequence (Feder 1978)
Few terms are as difficult to pin down as “peasant.” In 1968, the anthropologist Eric Wolf was careful to exclude “landless laborers” yet include tenants in the category when he emphasized control in defining peasants as “populations that are existentially involved in cultivation and make autonomous decisions regarding the processes of cultivation” (Wolf 1973: xiv)
Summary
In 1978, Ernest Feder described the peasant as a “species” made nearly “extinct” by globalization. João Pedro Stédile, a leader of Brazil’s Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem-Terra (MST), brought the argument full circle later that year when he described the whole peasant terminology debate as elitist and noted that his “peasant movement” sought to restore to the land as viable family farmers the very landless laborers Wolf had earlier dismissed (Stédile and Fernandes 1999: 31-32).
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
