Pre-Capıtalıst Iran, a Theoretical History
Abbas Vali
I. B. Tauris
The land reform of 1962 and the ensuing social and economic transformation in the Iranian countryside fundamentally altered the political and intellectual scene in Iran. It revealed the striking persistence and relative strength of pre-capitalist relations in agriculture, and the historical and political writings that followed this crucial event assigned to them an unparalleled significance in the history of modern Iran.1 Social scientists, economic historians and political activists began to reassess the conventional interpretations of contemporary Iran in the light of new developments in the countryside. The result was a revival of interest in the question of the transition to capitalism, with a view to explaining the persistence of pre-capitalist features and the underdeveloped state of capitalist relations in Iranian agriculture.2 Conceptual definitions of pre-capitalist relations, therefore, became an indispensable part of the study of the dynamics and ... |