An Unoist perspective on the agrarian question in capitalist development

Abstract

This article revisits the agrarian question and the related problematic of so-called unfree labor through the prism of two contending approaches to Marxist theory. In highlighting the limitations of the received approach, the conceptual infrastructure of which is pushed to the limit in the face of seismic shifts in the world economy, the article draws on the Uno approach to Marxist theory to examine the case Marx makes for the role of agrarian change in capitalism and sketches out the implications of that for understanding labor relations in nondeveloped economies at the current conjuncture. Operationalizing theoretical insights arrived at in this discussion the article turns to evidence on agrarian change and the commodification of labor power in China.