Critique of Vanden's "Marxism and the Peasantry ... "

Abstract

Harry Vanden's article deals with some important questions around the role of the peasantry in the revolutionary process in Latin America and the relationship of Marxist theory to the peasantry. He voices a frequently heard impatience with the failure of revolutionary organization in most of Latin America to successfully incorporate the masses into effective revolutionary action. Unfortunately, I feel that he neither clarifies the theoretical problems nor accurately reflects the historical record.His recurring theme, that Marxism has failed to deal effectively with peasants because of the bias of the Western, &dquo;urban&dquo; Marx and his followers, does not help us to understand the place of the peasantry in Marxist theory, and is contradicted by the many Marxists cited by Vanden himself (Engels, Lenin, Mao, Guevara, Mariategui, Blanco, etc.) who deal seriously with the peasant role in revolution. Vanden's primary evidence for Marxism's antipeasant bias is based on the correct observation that Marxist writing identifies the working class as the only class capable of leading a revolution which can overthrow capitalism. However, Marxists have not argued that peasants are not combative, radical, and even revolutionary against both precapitalist or capitalist regimes. Vanden fails to address the theoretical reasons for the specific role of peasants in relation to the working class in Marxist theory, although he does quote Marx and Lenin who explain the difference between workers and peasants in relation to production in capitalism. To reiterate, in Marxist theory the working class is the only class capable of leading a revolution to overthrow capitalism and institute socialism because only the working class, born with capitalism, develops irreconcilable contradictions with the capitali'st class which can be resolved only with the destruction of capitalism.Workers' consciousness of the need for socialism grows out of their experience in capitalist production. In contrast to Vanden's romantic attachment to peasant radicalism, according to Marxist theory peasants do not achieve consciousness of the need to overthrow capitalism through their