Reflections on the transition to socialism in South African agriculture

Abstract

This contribution reflects upon the contemporary crisis in South African agriculture, its historical origins and the significance of these for the labour movement and for socialist transition. For the labour movement, the "weak link" status of agriculture within South African capitalism constitutes an obstacle. With regard to the question of a socialist transition, the weakness of agrarian capitalism in South Africa possesses both advantages and disadvantages. Because monopoly capital has made so few strides in agriculture, the South African agrarian world does not evince a great deal of "material preparation for socialism". The lack of monopolization, however, has the advantage that it does not admit a high scale of sabotage (as is possible in the mines, where circulating capital could effectively be withdrawn). The contribution ends with a discussion of the lessons to be drawn from the historical experience in other countries (notably the USSR). The conclusion is that South Africa possesses the social and economic - if not yet the political - prerequisites for a transition to socialism in agriculture.