Introduction to Political Economy

This second episode of a two-part podcast explores two aspects of the Filipino peasant movement -- organizing around land and farmers rights through the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the Peasant Movement of the Philippines, and policy advocacy for food sovereignty through the People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS). Both organizations are part of the National Democratic Movement whose key goal is full decolonization. The Philippines remains one of the deadliest countries in the world to be an environmental or peasant activist. So what are the aims and objectives of the KMP? What does its organizing practice look like on the ground? How is PCFS distinct from KMP, and how do they approach questions of agro-ecology and degrowth? Importantly, how do rural insurgencies in the Philippines impact their work?I'm joined by JC Mercado, an activist with the People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty and an associate of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu. Edited by Mhd. Ali.

The Philippines is one of the deadliest countries in the world to be an environmental or land-based activist. Its rural poverty and highly unequal landownership is maintained by military force, while the Philippines' farmers find themselves subordinated to unequal international agricultural trade policies. But the country also has vibrant and militant farmers' movements, the largest being the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) which seeks to address the land inequality, while the associated People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) targetx international agribusiness. What does the agrarian political economy of the Philippines look like? What form does land inequality and agrarian crisis take? What are the gendered dimensions of agrarian problems? And how does the country’s entry into the world markets and invitation of foreign investment under structural adjustment impact its agrarian political economy? I'm joined by JC Mercado, an activist with the People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty and an associate of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines), to discuss these questions. This is the first of a two-part podcast.Music by Zobu. Edited by Mhd. Ali.

While China was "closed" for the most part to the world market under its socialist, planned economy model from 1949 to 1978, most of the population worked in agrarian collectives, which are often blamed for being so unproductive as to have contributed to mass famine. From 1978 on China adopted market-oriented reforms, starting with decollectivizing and turning much agricultural land over to individual households, which in turn is supposed to have led to rapid gains in agricultural productivity. But why did China pursue collectivization in the first place? Was it really responsible for tens of millions of death? What were its achievements? Why then did China adopt decollectivization, and what have been its effects for farmers and workers?I'm joined by Dr. Zhun Xu, author of From Commune to Capitalism: How China’s Peasants Lost Collective Farming and Gained Urban Poverty, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu. Edited by Mhd. Ali.

The farmer's movement in India continues massive protests against the new farm laws introduced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government under prime minister Narendra Modi. Some critics have alleged that the farmers' unions leading the protests represent the "rich farmers" who dominate the countryside, oppressing poor farmers and landless labourers. Labourers, moreover, tend to belong to different castes and face oppression on that axis as well. But because they speak in the name of all rural groups these farmers' unions are often described as "agrarian populist."What kinds of contradictions exist in the countryside between classes and castes? Is the current farmers' movement bridging the interests of different classes and castes? What differences exist among farmers' unions and why?I'm joined by Dr. Shreya Sinha, reviews editor at the Journal of Agrarian Change, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu. Edited by Mhd. Ali.

Scholars of the agrarian question in the 20th century asked how capitalist relations were developing in the countryside, what role peasants (cultivators) played in politics, and what role agricultural production would play in funding industry—the agrarian question would be resolved when a society achieved the structural transformation from agriculture to industry, from a society of peasants to a society of workers. But in most of the world that transition did not quite happen, or at least not in that way. So what does the agrarian question look like in the 21st century? How has neoliberal globalization change the lives and livelihoods of people in the countryside? And what might the future hold?I'm joined by Dr. A. Haroon Akram-Lodhi, author of Hungry for Change: Farmers, Food Justice and the Agrarian Question, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.

Peasant movements shaped the conversations and policies that were part of decolonization in much of the Global South, including conversations about land reform and the privileges of landed elites. In post-colonial countries, problems around food availability also pressed ruling elites to pursue strategies of agrarian reform that again reshaped class relations. In Pakistan, this sparked a new round of peasant resistance and radical political movements.I continue my discussion with Dr. Kasim Tirmizey and Shozab Raza around these questions.Music by Zobu.

When capitalist colonialism reshaped the landscape and agrarian relations in South Asia, how did peasants — those who tilled the land — respond? Often, they did so through resistance, including by joining movements that were led by radicals inspired by socialist and communist ideals. What was the link between changing agrarian political economy and social and political movements of the peasantry in colonial West Punjab and North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)?I'm joined by Dr. Kasim Tirmizey and Shozab Raza to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has repeatedly referred to China as the model for Pakistan to follow in pursuing economic growth and development, echoing development policy discussions about a "China model." From 1949 to 1978 China was "closed" for the most part to the world market under its socialist, planned economy model. But from 1978 on it adopted market-oriented reforms and opened up to the world, inviting foreign capital and becoming the global manufacturing hub. While the resulting economic growth raised incomes, it also sharply increased income inequality and took away many of the benefits that workers and farmers had under the planned economy. Is China's economic growth benefiting the majority of its population? How are workers faring? And does China offer a model that developing countries should or can follow?I'm joined by Dr. Ying Chen, author of several analyses of China's labour markets and struggles, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.

Three farm bills passed by the government of prime minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in India have ignited mass protests. In recent days tens and hundreds of millions of farmers and workers have taken to protest in India, especially in its agricultural heartlands of which Punjab is the most prominent. Thousands of Punjabis in diaspora have also taken out protests in Western countries. The Modi government argues its reforms are necessary to resolve India's agrarian crisis. Will these agricultural reforms improve the situation for farmers in India? What exactly do they contain and what impacts will they have on India’s agricultural system?I'm joined by Dr. Ritika Shrimali, author of the forthcoming Corporatization of Indian Agriculture: The Case of Contract Farming in India, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.

The mainstream approaches to climate mitigation that revolve around carbon pricing and trading appear to be limited in actually reducing carbon emissions, particularly in the advanced capitalist countries of the Global North. In response, many politicians and groups have called for even more radical approaches. One such approach is the Green New Deal proposed by progressives in the United States. What kinds of impacts would such proposals have on people in the Global South? What are the limits of proposals offered by progressives in the Global North? What kinds of alternatives should people in the Global South be thinking about given our own problems of underdevelopment? And what kinds of knowledges and resources can be draw on to think these things through?I'm joined by Dr. Max Ajl, author of the forthcoming A People's Green New Deal, to discuss these questions.Music by Zobu.