The The Ecology of an Agrarian Question Ecological Crises and the Coming of Age of Capitalism in Vrancea
Journal Title: Martor. The Museum of the Romanian Peasant Anthropology Review - Year 2014, Vol 19, Issue 19
Abstract
“Let us begin with the obvious. The Agrarian Question is also the Question of Nature, and, therefore, it is also the Question of Ecological Crises in the modern world” (Moore 2008, 57). But it is not because it is obvious that the ecological dimension of the agrarian question has been omitted in the literature until now. The focus on the political role of peasantry and on the emergence of new class struggles as capitalism made its way in the rural concealed the ecology from “the Agrarian Question”. This study traces the ecological implications of the development of capitalism in Vrancea region, Romania, from mid-18th century until the present day. It shows that the capitalist transition in the countryside also means a change of socio-ecological relations, namely a change of the social representation of Nature, a change of the modes of appropriating Nature, and a change of the institutions that govern economic action in the natural environment. All these changes are visible in the dynamics of the common property regime in Vrancea as market relations changed in the region. The study concludes that the ecological consequences of an agrarian question can be addressed systematically following the dynamics in the property regimes. Such a systematic analysis can help to better fathom transnational politics for agriculture and their implications for the natural environment in world-wide capitalism.
Authors and Affiliations
Liviu Măntescu
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP256779
- DOI -
- Views 99
- Downloads 0
Dakar’s Museum of Black Civilisations: Towards a New Imaginary of a Post-ethnographic Museum
How are postcolonial identities curated in non-Western art institutions? How do the latter engage with the question of the restitution of colonial looted artefacts during this turning point where Western museums seem inc...
Romania medicilor. Medici, tarani si igiena rurala in Romania de la 1860 la 1910, by Constantin Barbulescu. Bucuresti: Humanitas, 2015
Review of the book "Romania of the Doctors. Doctors, peasants and rural hygiene in rural Romania from 1860 to 1910", by Constantin Barbulescu.
Breaking Down the Body and Putting it Back Together: Displaying Knowledge in the “Francisc I. Rainer” Anthropological Collection
Normal bodies, deviant bodies, fragmentary, drawn or photographed bodies: all of these were collected and turned into scientific specimens by the anatomist and physical anthropologist Francisc I. Rainer in Interwar Bucha...
Reinventing Mountain Food Traditions and Small Farm Survival in Southern Appalachia
For over four decades, social scientists have addressed the relationship between development strategies and Appalachia’s highland cultural traditions. Historically, mountain foodways and diversified agricultural practice...
The Childhood Museum – Guestbook
The European project “Childhood. Remains and Heritage” (supported by the “Culture 2007-2013” program) had as main result the virtual museum of childhood (www.childhoodmuseum360.ro). Moreover, in addition to the virtual t...