Small farmers are being proletarianised ‐ a note on persistence and polarization by Bhaduri et al.

Abstract

It is suggested in this note that the so‐called ‘stability’ or ‘persistence’ of the small peasantry, postulated by Bhaduri, Rahman and Arn in their article in The Journal of Peasant Studies of April 1986 (Vol.13, No.3) is a myth. Using the data presented by Bhaduri et al. themselves, and data from other micro studies, the author argues that differentiation and disintegration of the peasantry are proceeding in the countryside of Bangladesh. This may be happening slowly, but it is clearly in evidence.

Notes

Research Fellow, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, GPO Box No.3854, Adamjee Court, Motijheel Commercial Area, Dhaka‐2, Bangladesh.