Edelman, Marc - Bringing the Moral Economy Back in... to the Study of 21st-Century Transnational Peasant Movements, 2005

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Bringing the Moral Economy Back in... to the Study of 21st-Century Transnational Peasant

MovementsAuthor(s): Marc EdelmanSource: American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 107, No. 3 (Sep., 2005), pp. 331-345Published by: Wiley on behalf of the American Anthropological Association

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MARC EDELMAN

Bringingthe Moral

Economyback in

...to the

Studyof21st-Centuryransnational easantMovements

ABSTRACT Jamescott's heMoral conomyf thePeasant1976)appeared t a timewhen peasant tudies" adbegun o

occupynimportantlace n he ocial ciences.hebook's ocus nVietnam,swell s itsnovelrgumentbout he auses frural

rebellion,ttractedidespreadttentionndunleashedcerbic ebates boutpeasants'rationality"nd he pplicabilityf onceptsfrom eoclassicalconomicsosmallholdinggriculturalists.n his rticle,analyze .P.Thompson'sotionf"moralconomy"nd

Scott's se of t odevelopnexperientialheoryfexploitation.then iscuss thernfluencesnScott,ncludingarl olanyi,.V.Chayanov,ndtheAnnales istorians.Moral conomy"nd"subsistencerisis"re onceptshat cott laborated ainlynrelation

tovillager nationalolitics.n hefinal ectionf he rticle,outlinehangesffectingeasantriesn heglobalizationra nd the

continuingelevancefmoralconomiciscoursesn griculturalists'ransnationalampaignsgainstheWTO. Keywords:easantry,

agriculture,ollectivection,ocialmovements,lobalization]

NTHISARTICLE,WOULD ike orevisitneofJamesScott's arlierworks-TheMoral conomyf he easant

(1976)-and arguefor tscontinuing elevance or nder-

standing easantmovementsf he ate20th ndearly 1stcenturies. here are severalreasonsfordoingthis.First,Scott's euvre s firmly roundedn thestudy fagrarianpolitics, nd the other rticlesn this InFocus,"with he

exception fK.Sivaramakrishnan'sntroduction,ocus ri-marily n its mplications or rangeofnonagrariano-cialscientificebates. econd, considerationfrecentn-stancesofpeasantcollective ction n relation o Scott'swork n "moral conomy" nd early-20th-centuryouth-eastAsianpeasantrebellions an highlight ow agrarianmovements, olitics, nd economieshave changed n re-cent decades. n particular,ow thatpeasantand small-

farmer ovements ave a significantransnationalimen-sion, t s worth sking owthecontent fnotions uch as"moral conomy"nd "subsistencerisis"-both laborated

mainlywith eferenceo ocalized trugglesnddisasters--shiftedn the context fchanging orms fpeasant con-

omyandpolitics.Andthird, evisitingheMoral conomyof he easantwill allow an examination fsome ofthe di-verse heoretical urrentshat onvergedn this xtraordi-

narybook as wellas its mpact n subsequent ebates n

agrariantudies.

MORALECONOMYOne of the more horoughffortso trace heoriginsnd

shiftingoundaries f moral conomysE. P.Thompson'sessay "The Moral EconomyReviewed" 1991:259-351),whichappeared20 years fter isfamous, ioneeringr-ticle n theEnglish rowd1971) and 15years ftercott'sTheMoral conomyf he easant1976).Thompsonocatesthe firstmentions f "moraleconomy" n the late 18thand early 9thcenturies, hen Chartists nd other riticsofcapitalismuxtaposedtagainst he aissez-fairepoliti-cal economy" spousedby"quacks" 1991:336-337).'Sur-

veyingwithhischaracteristiciquant kepticismhediver-

sityof approaches pawned by his essayon the Englishcrowd,Thompsonreminds s that his own conceptionof "moraleconomy"was "in general...confined o con-frontationsn the market-placever access (or entitle-ment)to 'necessities'-essential ood,"particularlyrofi-teeringnd thebeliefs, sages,forms,nd deep emotionsthatsurround themarketingf food n timeof dearth"(1991:337-338).The 18th-centuryrotestorsnd rioters

AMERICANNTHROPOLOGIST,ol.107, ssue , pp. 331-345, SSN 002-7294, lectronicSSN1548-1433. 2005 by he AmericannthropologicalAssociation.ll ightseserved.lease irectllrequestsor ermissionophotocopyrreproducerticleontenthroughheUniversityf CaliforniaPress's ightsnd Permissionsebsite,thttp://www.ucpress.edu/journals/rights.htm.

This content downloaded from 193.54.67.91 on Mon, 9 Dec 2013 16:37:56 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions






332 American nthropologist Vol.107,No. 3 * September005

that hompson elebrated ailed gainst rain oardingndwindfall rofits,griculturalistsho sold to intermediariesinstead f nweeklymarkets, illers nd bakerswhoshort-

weighted r adulterated roducts, xports hat received"bounties,"ndprices hatwerenotcustomaryr to their

liking.Scott's seof "moral conomy" oes notstray ar rom

Thompson's. t placessomewhat essemphasis,however,on consumers' articipationn food markets hanon val-uesormores. hisemphasis n mores pecificallyncluded

producers' xpectationsbout and notions of a right o

"just prices" including just"rents nd taxes), s wellasother orts fentitlements,uchas access to land,glean-ingorfishing ights, ights-of-waycross andowner rop-erties, nd redistributiveechanisms nd forms f reci-

procityhat inked easantswith lites ndwith ach other.Scott's pproach, ncorporatinghese otherelements, salso moreexplicitlyoncernedwithdeveloping "phe-nomenological heory f exploitation"Scott1976:161,

31).2 Mostpeasants, ccordingoScott, elddeeply ootedbeliefs bouttheright o "subsistenceecurity"1976:35).Theymanifestedgeneralizedversion o risks hatmightthreaten his ecuritynd an utter readofthose"thresh-olds" pastwhich a household could spiraldownward o

hunger nd misery1976:101).Thesesubjective lementsormentalitWn turn ecomekeydeterminantsfwhere,n

anygiven conjuncture, easantsendedup on the shad-

owycontinuum etween pparent uiescenceand openrebellion.3

Peasant onceptions f"justice," s described yScottforSoutheastAsia in the late 19th and early20th cen-

turies, re not, n theirgeneral utlines, erymuch dif-ferent orothertimes and places (say, ate-20th-centuryLatinAmerica),which s partofwhyhis book has hadsuch resonance. Just rice"or "priceovercost"--"preciosobre osto,"s I have hearddozensofcontemporaryen-tralAmericangriculturalistsut t,oftenwith spark f

outrage n their yes-is at the core of this. Alsosignifi-cant aretheexpectations,evelopedover onghistorical

time, fwhat tates nd elitesmay laim ndofwhat heymust, n turn, rovide n timesofnecessity. inally, heissuesofwhatvalues arecommensurable,f what can beturnednto commodity,ndofwhatnatural rcommonlyheld resources an be appropriated orprivateuse and

profitlso loomlarge n the rural oor'sunderstandingfjustice.

Today hespecificesourcesargetedor ommodifica-tion are differenthana century go,but themoral dis-courseof the affectedeasants s remarkablyimilar. he"right f subsistence,"oo, remains mportant; owever,forpeasantmovementsn recent ecades and in diverseworld egionsas shalldescriben more etail elow), thasbroadened o the"righto continue eing griculturalists."Thismeans,nessence, herighto continueiving rom heland as well stheprotectionf patrimonyoth fpublic-sectornstitutions,hichmadebeing nagriculturalistos-sible ndwhich renowtargeted yneoliberal rivatizers,

and ofplantgermplasmnd cheesecultures, hichpeas-ants'antagonists ow sometimesuphemize nd covet s"intellectualroperty."oreover,nmany ountries,hose

public-sectornstitutions-commoditiesoards, xtension

agencies, nd land reformnd irrigationrograms,mongothers-generated pward historical ovementnsubsis-tence xpectations"Haugerud 995:10-11).Althoughhe

"subsistencetandard" asprobably ever tatic nany o-ciety, ising xpectations,uelednmany asesbygovern-mentprogramsnd politicians' hetoric,ave meant hatlandlord-,market-,rstate-basedhreatso economicop-portunity,ccumulation,r improvedwelfarerenow atleast s importants challengesovillage utonomy rhis-torical racticesfreciprocity.

One of theenduringontributionsfbothThompsonand Scottwas to highlighthe extent o which"markets"arepolitical onstructionsndoutcomes f ocialstruggle.Thismaybe appreciatedyreturningorust moment oa revealing hrase hat ccursnThompson's efinitionf

moral conomy:confrontationsn themarket-place."hetermmarket-place,f course, vokes a concrete ocation.From urvantagepoint today,tis sometimes ifficulto

grasp hat ven nthemid-19th enturymarkety tself f-ten referredrimarilyo a specific hysicalocationwhere

particularypes fgoodswere tored nd tradedMorenoFraginals 985:11).Only ater id tassume hemetaphor-ical and deterritorializedualities hat ncreasinglydhereto t.Thepolitical leight-of-handhat ccompaniedhis e-mantic hiftnvolvedmaking he nstitutionshat ctuallyshapedmarketsnvisible s well as creatinghe ppearanceof separatend autonomous conomic omaindisembed-ded fromociety.

Thegreat chievementfAdamSmith, avidRicardo,ThomasMalthus, nd other lassicalpolitical conomistswas, sMichaelPerelman2000)demonstrates,opromotethe extension o new domains of "free"markets;mean-whilethey imultaneouslybscured he brutaldisposses-sion thataccompaniedthe spreadof such markets nd

promotednterventionisteasures, hich horoughlyon-tradictedaissez-faireoctrine,o force hepoorto work.Indeed,as Joseph tiglitz emarksn his forward o theneweditionof KarlPolanyi'sGreat ransformation,Trulyfreemarketsorabororgoodshave never xisted"Stiglitz2001:ix).Nonetheless, cott, n The MoralEconomyfthe

Peasant, tates hathe deliberatelyccords nly summarytreatmento the role of market orces s threats o peas-ants' subsistenceecurity ecause,unlike the "morepo-litically alient" andlords nd state, heywere "moreorless mpersonal rocesseswithout ny readilydentifiablehumanagency" 1976:58).4 t remains argely rue odaythat he nvisible andhas no identifiableace, nd peas-ants'"confrontationsn themarket-place"owoccurmoreand more n a "market-place"hatno longer as a "place"in it,whichnaturallyffects he character f theirpolit-ical responses.Much of the workofcontemporaryeas-ant activists onsists f trying o name and put in thespotlighthe nstitutionalgencybehindthe ncreasingly







Edelman * BringingheMoralEconomy ack n 333

deterritorializednd nvasivemarketorces hat uffethemfrom ll sides.

INSTITUTIONS, HOUSEHOLDS, MARKETS,AND INFLUENCES

TheMoral conomyf he easant 1976)was a major nter-

ventionnthe mergingield fpeasant tudies,n theoriesof collective ction, nd in debates boutthehistory fthemarket nd humannature nd institutions.he warin Vietnam,which ended in a crushingU.S. defeat ne

year efore cott's ookappeared,was ofcourse he "defin-

ingmoment" hatcontributedo the late 1960supsurgeof interestn contemporaryeasantries. lso important,ifmoreproblematic, erethe"GreatProletarianulturalRevolution"nChina;smaller wars f iberation"n Latin

America, frica,ndAsia; ndthebroader uestion fhowtheagrariantructuresfpoor, argely ural ountries ad

shaped-and might nfluencen thefuture-processesf

underdevelopmentnddevelopmentBernsteinndByres2001:2;Salemink 003).

Here ntheearly 1stcentury,tmaybe hard o recallthat nly40years gothisunderstandingfthepeasant sa majorhistorical rotagonist as thewidely hared om-monsense fscholars, olicymakers,ndrevolutionaries.5Scott'sTheMoral conomyfthe easant ametoward heend of a wave offoundational ooks n peasantstudies,bothbuildingon suchworks nd insistentlynjectingnewcultural nd evenpsychological imension hat heysometimesacked rdownplayed. ricWolf's easantWars

of theTwentiethentury1969)-itself "an outgrowthfthe

Vietnam]each-inmovement"Roseberry995:161)-

analyzed ixcasesthat rgued or easantries' entral olein some of the mostdramatic pheavalsof the decadessince he1910MexicanRevolution.6n The ocialOriginsfDictatorshipndDemocracy1966),Barrington oorecom-

paredeight ases (England, rance,Germany, ussia, heUnited tates, hina,Japan, nd ndia)and inked grarianrelations-and, articularly,hefate freactionaryandlordclasses-todistinctourgeois emocratic,apitalistuthori-

tarian,ndrevolutionaryocialist outes omodernity.he

rediscoverynd translationntoEnglish and Spanish)ofRussian conomist . V.Chayanov's heoryf easant con-

omy1966) enriched nderstandingfpeasanthousehold

dynamics,dentifiedpecificeasant ormsf conomic a-tionality,nd sparked eatedpolemics verwhether uralsocialdifferentiationroduceddistinct lassesofwealthyand poorpeasantsor,alternatively,hether uchdiffer-encesresulted rom heage and demographicmakeupofrural ouseholds,withyounger nitshavingmoredepen-dents nd fewerworkers,nd thus esswealth hanolderunits.7

Moore'sand Wolf's nalyses, n somewhatdifferent

ways, evolved rincipallyround tates ndagrariantruc-tures, ositingocietal xplanations or olitical-economicoutcomes.Forexample,Mooreconsidered certain grar-ian social features"-such s a weak landed aristocracy

or the "taming" fpeasantsthrough heir ncorporationinto "appropriate" orms f commercial gricultureor,as in England, heirnear-completeisplacement)-tobe

key nexplainingwhy ome societies uccessfullychieveda bourgeoisdemocraticmodernization. thersocieties,wherecommercial gricultureeliedon repressionf ru-ral labor and alliances formed etween andowners nd

emergingndustrialnterests,ufferedeactionaryrevo-lutionsfrom bove" or,where argeruralproletariatsx-isted and landownerswith a weak market rientationdominated he state, ommunist evolutions rom elow

(Moore1966:414-460),. lthoughMooremaintained hat

reciprocityetweenpeasants nd landlords, nd peasant"moral standards" bout justiceand risksharing, on-tributedo political tabilityn agrarian ocieties, e con-sidered ulture an interveningariable" nd adamantlyrejectedhe dea that he ubjective xperiencefexploita-tionmightlonetriggerebellion1966:468-471, 85,497).

Wolf,much likeMoore,pointedto "traditionalr-

rangements"nd the "accustomednstitutionalontext"as featureshat reducedpeasants'risks nd, ifsubverted,produced psychological,conomic, ocial,and politicaltensions,"which ould,given herightonditions,ead torebellion1969:xiv-xv).n a related bservationn an ear-lierworkPeasants1966]),Wolf uggestedhat easants re

required o divide he wealth heyproducebetween re-

placement undfor iological urvival), ceremonial und

(thatreinforcesillage-levelolidary elations),nd a fundof rentfor andlords,money enders, nd the state Wolf1966:4-10).The ceremonial und,nthis onception,on-sists fresourcesor einforcingorizontal elationsfreci-

procityoneaspect fwhat cottater ermedmoral con-

omy").Wolf's entralonclusionsnPeasantWars, owever,dealtonly ndirectlyith heexperientialmpact funrav-eling traditionalrrangements"nd concernednstead he

prominentoleof "middle"peasants and of "free" eas-ants n peripheralones) in successfulgrarian ebellionsandrevolutions.ut imply,hese ocialgroups,ocated n

comparableways n systemsf classrelations, eremostvulnerableomarket-inducedhreatsndmost xposed o

ideologicalnfluencesriginatingn urban reas 1969:290-295). Wolfdid not considerviolationsof traditionalr-

rangementsnimportantnexplainingural nrest, uthe

emphasized hanging ropertyelationsndmodesof a-

bormobilizationmore hanpeasants' ubjective xperienceof uchchanges.

Chayanov, n contrast o Moore and Wolf,was lessconcernedwithbroader oliticalprocesses hanwith lu-cidatinghouseholddynamics, pecificallyhe tendencyofpeasantfamilies othto engage n "self-exploitation,"squeezing vailable aboras much as possiblefor iny n-crementsn production,nd to underutilizeaborwhenmarginal eturnso ncreasedwork esultedn subjectivelyunacceptableevels f"drudgery"Chayanov 966:81-85).Scott's iewoftherural ousehold nTheMoral conomyfthe easant eflectshayanov's hinking, articularlyn itsportrayalfpeasantfamiliess seeking table ubsistence







334 American nthropologist Vol.107,No. 3 * September 005

rather hanhigher-riskaximum eturnsScott1976:15-19). Employing-abituncharacteristically-theanguageofneoclassical conomics muchas Chayanovdid),Scottwriteshatpeasant abor s characterizedy owopportu-nity ost i.e., a near absenceofalternativemploymentpossibilities)nd"highmarginal tilityf ncome or hosenear the subsistence evel" (1976:14-15).Two claims of

Chayanov hus stand out as influences n Scott: 1) thatthere s a subjectivelynacceptableevel ofdrudgery,astwhich ndividualswillcease towork, nd (2) thatthe ru-ralpoorengage n an unremittingursuit fsubsistence,as opposedto accumulationalthough, s notedabove,arisingiving tandard nd accumulation ave been incor-

porated ntomanycontemporaryeasants'expectationsabout"subsistence").

One objectiveof TheMoralEconomy f thePeasant(1976) is to movebeyondChayanov's estrictedocuson

familynits o theexclusion fother ocialrelations,uchasvillage-basedetworksf olidarityndmutual upport,

buttononethelessxamine he mplicationsfhis nsightsinto householdeconomics nd psychologyor arger o-litical ransformations.ith hisbook,Scott husbridgedthescholarship ocused n states nd agrariantructures,on the onehand, nd thescholarshiponcerned rimarilywiththepeasant family,aborallocation, nd householdbudgets, n the otherhand.He did so withgreatertten-tionto theroleof ubjectivitynpolitical ontention hanwas presentn the workof others, uch as Wolf,whosehistorical-structuralpproach lso sought, omewhat if-

ferently,oconnect hesedifferentevels f nalysis.TheMoral conomyf he easant,ikeChayanov's he-

ory fPeasantEconomy1966),makesan antimaximizingargument,nd t s here hat cott'snterventionnthecol-lective ctiondebates s most pparent. heVietnamWarera,despite worldwidefflorescencef ocialmovements,saw the emergence f influential,nterrelatedaradigmsthat tressedhe elf-interestedationalityf ndividual c-tors nd thedifficulty-ifot mpossibility-ofroducingcollective oods. Paradoxically,erhaps, iventhe thou-sandswho weremarchingn the streets,Mancur Olson(1965)argued hat ndividualspresumablyn alltimes ndplaces)were o rational heywouldnot riskoining ollec-tive ctionbecause achcould benefitrom thers' ctivitybypursuingow-risk,elf-interestedfree ider" trategies

at theexpenseofthegroup.Like Garrett ardin's 1968)"tragedyfthecommons"model and thegrowing odyof social scientific orkon "prisoner's ilemma"games,"incentive roblems,"nd "moralhazards"), he "collec-tive ctionproblem"ssumed ollaborationouldonlyoc-cur f ndividuals-eachepitomizing universal,alculat-inghomo conomicus-werenduced to join group ffortsthroughewards r anctions.8hecritiquesf cott's ook,most amouslyamuel opkin's heRationaleasant1979),employed his anguage f ndividual ationalitynd "freeriders"oargue hat or easants he"insurance" fvillagenorms freciprocityndtraditionalatron-clientelationswas lessreliable nd thepotential ainsofmarketsmore

favorable hanScott nd theother moral conomists" adindicated.9

Although paceconstraintsreclude iving hecriticstheirdue here, t is worth bservinghattheyoften n-gaged n a romanticizationf he marketatherike hero-manticizationfvillage ommunities, hich, hey harged,characterizedhe moral conomists"' ork. opkin, or x-

ample, ssertshat

while xposureo internationalnd nationalmarketsdoes ubjecteasantso new nddifferentinds fun-certainty,arger arketsend omaintainteadierricesand farmore ertainupplies f foodover ime .. Withexpansion.. the ctual insurancealueofmoney,"hatis, he robabilityhatmoneyavedn a goodyearwillfind ood obuyn a badyear,tselfncreasesndpeas-ants ave formfprotectionhichhey idnothavewithin mallermarketreas.1979:72]10

Popkin's omments,of ourse,mblematicfonepolein a larger ebateovermarketociety.n TheMoral con-

omy f he easant, cott 1976:5n. 8) pays tribute"othe"formative"ole hatPolanyi'sGreat ransformation1957)played n histhinking. lthoughhis ppreciationsgivenlittle xplicitcknowledgmentlsewherenTheMoral con-omy f he easant, cott's ision fpeasant conomy sem-bedded n a frameworkf ntra- nd nterclasseciprocale-lations choesPolanyi's ejection f thepresumptionhateconomy onstitutesn analyticallyutonomous omainapartfrom ocial nstitutions.cottmaintainshatvillage-level systems freciprocityroduce, ver onghistoricaltime,widely eld moral xpectations. arket orcessome-timesncombination ith nvironmentalnes)posechal-lenges o these xpectationsndmay,whenthresholds fwhat sculturallycceptable recrossed, roduce ebellionand collective esistance.

Curiously, iven he central laceScott ccorded heselong-standingxpectationsnd theupheavals hat ccom-panytheir iolation, opkin harged hatthe moraleco-nomic pproachwronglyonsiders easant ocietystable"(1979:29).William ooth, more ecentritic,laims hat tis "oriented owardhe tatictate" nd that one of hema-jor nadequacies fthemoral conomicmodel... [is]thatit hasonly hin heoreticalesources ithwhich oexplaineconomic hange-why conomic egimesome ntobeingandpassaway" 1994:658).

These interpretations iss another ignificantnflu-ence on the author f TheMoral conomyf he easant, l-though ne that s again, ike hat fPolanyi, arelymadeexplicit.n Scott's reface, e acknowledges debt to theAnnales school of historiography"-particularlyo MarcBloch,EmmanuelLe RoyLadurie, nd thoseresearchersworkingn "mentalitisopulaires"1976:viii).TheAnnaleshistorians ere, fcourse, oodisputatiouso constitutecoherent school"-"witha Pope,ortwo,at thetop" (asLucienFebvre, ne ofthe ournal'sfirstditors, nce re-markedAguirreojas1999:12]).Moreover,ndifferente-riods, he approaches hatdominated heAnnales roupvariedconsiderably,romBloch's and Le Roy Ladurie's







Edelman * Bringinghe MoralEconomy ack n 335

painstakinglyetailed tudies f rural ife o the anthro-

pologicalhistoryfthe scholars f"mentalitisopulaires."Althoughhe concernwith ubjectivityfthe atter roupresonates ith cott'smphasis nthe mportancef ultur-

allydefined onsumptiontandardsandwithChayanov'streatmentf drudgery"),third nnalesendency-the e-rialhistoryf ongues urees ioneered yErnest abrousse

and made famousbyFernandBraudel-also raised ssuesthat igures importantnalytical nderpinningsfScott'sTheMoral conomyf he easant. his sespeciallyvident,itseemstome, n Scott's onsiderationfthe factors hatmediate etween ubsistence rises ndpeasantrebellions.

SUBSISTENCECRISES

The conceptof"subsistencerisis" urely as a genealogythatgoesbackto the neolithic. ropdiseases, est nfesta-

tions,floods, roughts,nd frosts ave frustratedgricul-turalists nd contributedo socialupheavalsfor enmil-

lennia. In the contemporaryocial sciences, subsistencecrisis" nd similardeashave often aised he tensionbe-tween hequantifiablemeasure nd thesubjective xperi-enceofshortagehatScotthandles o deftlyn TheMoral

Economyf he easant.Annales-styleerialhistoryroughta newemphasis n graphing rices ndwages, griculturalyields, and rents, nd costsof iving, nd on identifyingseasonal, yclical,nd long-termrends. lthoughhisdidnotsignifycomplete reakwith he earlierpproaches fBloch and his collaborators,tdid tend to displace tten-tion from and use, agriculturalechnology, ropertyys-tems, nd the uridical tatus f rural abor.Eventhough

proponentsfthenew serialhistory laimedto be seek-

ingalternativesoempty conomic eductionism,heverynature ftheir ources ndresearch roceduresometimes

encouragednterpretationshatgave hort hrifto thecul-tural nd politicalmediation fcrises, articularlyhenthese ed tocollectivection.

ErnestLabrousse, orexample,one of the pioneersofquantitativeerialhistoryand a leading figuren theAnnales roup), sked, none ofhisearliestmpiricaltud-ies nd nhismajormethodologicalreatise, hether rancein 1789 was a "revolution f misery r prosperity."e

proceeded o invoke as a proximate ause of the French

Revolution two-yearsubsistence risis" hat ed to in-

creased iscal emands ndthatdashedrisingxpectations(amongthe peasantry,roletariat,nd bourgeoisie) en-eratedduring much longerperiodof expandingpros-perityLabrousse 962:365-366).Enrique lorescano,im-ilarly,scribed he 1810Mexicanwar of ndependencenlargepart oprecedinggriculturalrises nd famines, e-spite recountingf trugglesetween easants nd author-ities edolent ith iscoursesfmoral conomy1969:172-179).11

Explanationsuch as these-and theterm ubsistencecrisis tself-raise host of questions.First, f course, stheempirical aliditynd interpretationf thedata seriesthemselves.eRoy adurie, or xample, ermed abrousse's

accountof the FrenchRevolution debatable" nd "un-

convincing,"nd askedwhytheconclusions f thisworkhave been "piouslyrepeatedforalmost half a century"(1996:491 n. 50). Second,narrowlyonceived erialhis-

torywas oftennotable forwhat it leftout. The role ofthe NapoleonicWars n weakening pain'shold over tsAmerican olonies, o cite another ase,received carcelya mention n Florescano's xamination ftheyears ead-ingup to Mexican ndependence. hird, he term ubsis-tence,speciallyutnotonlywhen pplied ocontemporaryagriculturalists,uggestself-provisioning,utarchic sub-sistence armers"r "subsistenceeasantries"nd tends oobscure he relationwith he market hat mallproducersmayhave,especiallynyears fhighyields nd surpluses(or, nyears f owyields,s consumersfpurchased taplefoods cquired thigh prices).12ourth,nd most mpor-tant, horteningheanalytical istance etween raphs f

pricemovements nd revolutionarypheavalsrisked im-

plifyinghecomplexitiesfpopular xpectations,ocialre-

lations, nd even "humannature" tself.twas,Thompsoncommented, manifestationf

theschizoidntellectuallimate, hichpermitshisquantitativeistoriographyo co-existin the sameplaces nd sometimesn the ameminds)with so-cial nthropologyhich erivesromurkheim,eber,or Malinowski. eknow ll about hedelicate issueofsocialnormsndreciprocitieshich egulateshelife fTrobriandslanders,ndthepsychicnergiesn-volvedn thecargo ults fMelanesia; ut at somepointhisnfinitely-complexocial reature,elanesianman, ecomesinourhistories)he ighteenth-centuryEnglishollier ho lapshishand pasmodicallyponhis stomach,nd respondso elementaryconomic

stimuli.1971:78]If "moraleconomy" and English cultural istory")

thus mergeds analternativeo"spasmodic" r economicreductionististory,he ncorporationfgreater omplex-ity nevitablyeneratednalytical ensions.13n TheMoral

Economyf he easant, cott evelops heconcepts f sub-sistenceminimum"or "level") nd "subsistence risis" s

partof an efforto understandheimpactof the longuedureeon daily ife.He illustrateshe nstabilityfpeasantagriculturever ime a dimension fhisworkargelyver-lookedbycriticsuch sPopkin ndBooth-see above)andtheconsistencyfelites' laims n it withbothhypothet-

ical and actual data series e.g.,Scott1976:15-16, 29-31,118-120).14 t imes e accords onsiderable eight o thetrendshemselves,swhenhe ndicates he ikelihoodhat

per apita ncome nd rice rices eclinedn Vietnamn the1900-40period, he astdecadeof which awmajorpeas-antuprisingsn thenorthernndnorth-centralarts f hecountryas wellas in lowerBurma, imilarlympacted ythe 1930sdepression; cott1976:56-57 n. 1,and p. 120).Butwhen Scott mploys uch serial easoning,t s in theservice fa more ubtle rgumentbout the nterplaye-tween heobjectivendicators nd subjective xperiencesthatshape the "subsistence risis." n early-20th-centurySoutheastAsia, ccording oScott, ubsistencerises rose







336 American nthropologist Vol.107,No. 3 * September005

as a result f fluctuationsn naturalyields,world-market

prices, nd "mono-crop" rices 1976:197),all combinedwitha subjective xperience f each event and elitere-

sponses o it that ed peasants o view tas a violation fthemoral order. Beyond ... brutephysiologicalneeds," he

writes,there s clearly n historical imension o subsis-tence evels nwhichminimum tandards ear somerela-

tiontoprevious xperience"Scott 976:17).How has thenature f ubsistencerises hangednthe

late 20th nd early 1stcenturies,nd to whatpolitical f-fect?nmostplaces, easant nvolvement ithmarkets as

only ntensifiednthepastfew ecades.For hinkingboutwhat "subsistencerisis"means oday,cott'smphasis nfluctuationfprices ndyieldsmaybea bit oohistoricallyspecific. hedownward ecular rendntheprices fmanyinternationallyraded griculturalommodities as lasted20 or moreyears-that s,almost generation.15here restill ccasional ooms nparticular arketse.g., oybeans),buttheperiodicitynagriculturalrices, articularlyfkey

staplefoods nd internationallyraded ommoditiese.g.,cereals, ilseeds, offee,otton,ugar,ndcacao), ppears ohavegreatlyiminishedr, nsome ases, vendisappeared(FoodandAgriculturerganizationf the UnitedNations[FAO] 000;World ank 005).There s ittle eason osup-posethat he downward rice rendwillreversetselfmorethanmomentarily,iven he evergreaterinkages etween

"market-places,"hehigh-yieldingechnologieshat ill hesilos ndwarehouses ndglut hemarkets,hepersistence-despite heWTOand all theneoliberal iscourse-of U andU.S. export ubsidies nd dumping,nd the effortsf the

major gribusinessorporationsodrive ownprices t thefarm ate.16

Afrostn thecoffee-growingegions fBrazil, or n-stance,used to be cause forrejoicingn Colombia,Cen-tralAmerica,nd EastAfrica,ut it is no longer.ndeed,the1994 frostnBrazilhadonlyminimalmpact n inter-national offee rices WorldBank2005:304).In thepastdecade,Vietnam nd Indonesia,traditional ea-drinkingcountries hat wereencouraged o entercoffee roduc-tionbythe WorldBank,gluttedhe market o thoroughlythatmanyLatinAmerican nd East African offee ro-ducershave simply ivenup.17 n mostcoffee-producingcountries,hedismantling-as consequence fneoliberalreforms-of ingle-deskmarketinggenciesor statecom-

modities oardshas meant hat upplymanagementmech-anisms redifficultr mpossibleoenforce. hestories orthe other ommoditiesredifferent,ut thebroadpictureis notdissimilar.he subsistencerisis asbecome perma-nent tate.

CHANGING PEASANTRIES

The peasantsoftodayare not the samepeasantsof the1960s and 1970s,when"peasant tudies" egantooccupyan important lace in the social sciences n Latin Amer-ica,Asia,Africa, urope, nd NorthAmerica.Neither rethey ntirelyhe samepeasants fTheMoral conomyf hePeasantScott 976).Particularlyince heglobal conomic

upheaval signaledby the 1970s collapseof the BrettonWoods fixed xchangerate ystem nd controls n capi-tal movementsHelleiner 994), heruralworldhasexperi-enceddeepening,nterconnectedrises. nmany ocieties,urbanization as diminishedhepolitical loutof rural r-eas and contributedo thereconfigurationnd, at times,thedisintegrationfpeasanthousehold

enterprises.18In 1976,MexicananthropologistrturoWarman l-readywrote fthe"devilish ialectic" hat ormentedhe

peasants fcentralMexico:

To satisfyhedemandsf"growthnddevelopment"thecampesinosave ntensifiedheirctivity,akingit more iverse,omplexnd arduous o meet rateof xploitationhatshigher,ndmore biquitousndharsh. o be "modern"-toraftruitrees,ofertilizewith hemicals,o harvestroductshat re ooexpen-sive or hemo consume-theampesinosavehad obecomemoretraditional."hey ave oplanthemaizethatheyre oingo at .. [and] stablisheciprocale-lations or hedirect,on-capitalistxchangef abor

and resources.hey avehadtoreproducehemselvesand xpandhe ize f heirurplusabor orce.Warman1976:15]

In Mexico and elsewhere he situation oday s usu-

ally,f nything,arshernd therate f xploitation igherstill hanwhenWarmanwrote boutMorelos.n TheMoral

Economyf thePeasant, cott 1976:85) pointsto "rudeshocks .. linked o theworldmarket" s destroyingubsis-tence ecurityn early-20th-centurysia,but he ismainlyreferringo commoditiesnd,secondarily,reditmarkets.

Today,multiplendintensifiednvolvementsnmarkets-for ommodities,redit, echnology,and,and services fall kinds-have

brought rowingnd interconnectedul-

nerabilities.easants'widespreaddoption fmodern ech-nologies, venwhenemployed n traditionalultivation

systems, as deepeneddependence n the cash economyand exacerbated hemultiple nvironmentalnd health

catastrophesoo often ssociatedwith ndustrialgricul-ture.The "subsistencerises" fdroughts,loods, nsects,cropblights,nimaldiseases, nd plummetingrices tilloccur, utthey recompounded ynewrisks ndmore n-certaintyndbythepunishing mpacts f twodecadesofeconomic iberalizationnd institutionalestructuring.

The cumulative ffectftoday's rudeshocks" s ar-

guablymore violentand brusquethan in 1930s South-

eastAsia. The seculardecline n agriculturalricesmen-tioned bove spart f his, ut o areprivatizationsf tatedevelopment anks, xtension gencies nd commoditiesboards, ndthe ver-growingoncentrationnd verticaln-tegrationmong hegiant orporationshat upply nputsand control he ion's hare f griculturalrade. hedisap-pearance f ubsidies nceprovided ynow-debilitatedel-fare tates, ven n some ess-developedountries, as putsmall roducersvermore tthemercyf ocal oansharks,intermediaries,nd increasinglyapricious nddistantn-visibleforces. he eviscerationnd reversal fagrarian e-forms, hich lites bhor sobstacles o thefree lay fmar-ketforces, ave contributedoreducing hepeasant and







Edelman* BringingheMoral conomyackn 337

baseandshatteringope Zoomersnd van derHaar2000).Nonagriculturalmploymentnd entrepreneurialctivityhavebecomeessential or he rural oor'ssurvival lmost

everywhere.19Notsurprisingly,iven hisgrim anorama, iasporas

of ountry eoplehave scatteredhroughoutheworld,m-

pacting ural ivelihoodsndreshaping easantmaginariesandpolitics. oday's ampesinos, hen hey emain n theland,havefrequentlyad to learnnotonlyaboutfertiliz-

ingwith hemicals rgraftingruitrees, s Warman ug-gested, ut also aboutthe anguage fbankers nd awyers,marketntelligencend computers, usiness dministra-tion ndphytosanitaryeasures, iotechnologynd ntel-lectualproperty,nd at least he rudimentsf trade olicyandmacroeconomics.heyhave had to becomesophisti-cated ndworldly.

Inrecent ears, rban ndrural ulture aveconvergedin somanyways hat t snecessaryoconsiderhepossibil-ity f new, ontemporaryuralmoral conomy,nformed

byan urban maginarynd urbanconsumptionxpecta-tions.To some extent his onvergence,herising subsis-tence tandard"eferredoabove, tems rom emographicshifts hat createnew strainsnternal o peasanthouse-holds.Expandinghe ize ofpeasants' surplusaborforce"

(as Warman uts t) is no longer simplematter. ven nrural reas,mprovedccess o schooling, rowingelianceon off-farmmployment,nddeclining verage ertilitye-duce thenumbers favailablefamilyaborers nd inten-

sify ressuresn thosewho arestill armingoprovide n

ever-higherevelofconsumptionor heentire ousehold.This, n turn, trains xtended amily ies and limits os-sibilitiesfparticipatingn diverse indsof collective n-deavors.Atthe same time hatpeasantexpectations averisen, n many ess-developedountries,he rural-urban

gap-in living tandards,nconsumption,n ifechances--has onlywidened.This combination fconvergingxpec-tations nddivergingife hanceshaspotentiallyxplosiveconsequences.AsUruguayanssayist duardoGaleano ob-

serves, Advertisingnjoinseveryone o consume,whiletheeconomy rohibitshevastmajorityfhumanityrom

doing o. The command hat verybodyo what omanycannotbecomes n invitationo crime"2000:25).Or, ne

might uggest,o collectivection.

"THERE S NOWORLDMARKET":MORALECONOMYAND TODAY'S PEASANTMOVEMENTS

Polanyisaw the "countermovement"r resistance hatalwaysaccompanied he advanceof "market ociety" slargelyocal orperhapsnational n scope 1957:130-134).Scott, imilarly,peaks fthe moral riteriafvillage edis-tributiveorms. n TheMoral conomyf he easant1976),Scott mphasizes hat

thedevelopmentf apitalism,he ommercializationfagrarianelations,nd thegrowthf a centralizingtaterepresenthe historicalocus ofpeasantrevoltsn themodern ra.For, boveall,these argehistorical orces

cut hroughhe ntegumentf ubsistenceustomsndtraditionalocial elationso eplacehem ithontracts,themarket,nduniformaws.1976:189]

In thepast threedecades,however, ince the break-down of the BrettonWoods system hatushered n the

globalization ra and since thepublication f TheMoral

EconomyfthePeasant), herehas occurredyetanother

"disembedding"fthe market romocietynd a "demor-alizingof the theory f trade nd consumption"to use

Thompson's1971:89]descriptionfthe ate-18th-centurylaissez-faireevolution).Whether he statehas weakenedunderglobalization r simply ssumednew functions,tis oftenno longerthe principalfocusof the counter-movement o the market. ew supranational overnanceinstitutions-suchs theWTO, MF, ndWorld ank-havebecomemajor argetss well.

Peasantpolitics n thepast twodecadesreflectshisand has takennew, ften ransnationalormsargelynan-

ticipated ythepeasant tudies cholars f the 1960s and

1970s. Peasantmovementsn differentountries nd re-gions hatonly decadeago barely new fone another'sexistence ow routinely xchange nformationnd dele-

gations, nd mount oint obbying, esearch,nd protestactions.The successofthe Brazilian andlessMovement(Movimentoos Trabalhadoresurais em Terra MST]) in

pressing oragrarian eform as influenced easantor-

ganizations hroughoutheAmericas nd as far wayasSouthAfrica. lobalnetworksfpeasant nd smallfarmer

organizationsuch as Via Campesinaand APM-Mondial(ReseauMondial griculturesaysannes,limentationtMon-dialisation)inkcoalitions fnationalgroups hatoperatewithin urope, atinAmerica, sia, nd Africa.With heirown sometimes-meageresources nd additionalbackingfromEuropean and a fewother)nongovernmentalr-

ganizationsNGOs) and foundations,heyhave come tohavea highprofilen theglobal usticemovement,nclud-

ingtheWorld ocial Forumsn PortoAlegre nd Mumbaiand the anti-WTO rotestsn Seattle,Cancuin, nd else-where Edelman2003). Theirmember rganizations avealso contributedo topplingnationalgovernments,s inEcuadorn2000 and Bolivia n 2003.

Thehistoryf theformationf transnationaleasantand small-farmeretworksnd movements an onlybeoutlinedhere.20 he main impetus or ross-borderrga-

nizingby peasants nd smallfarmers as the 1980s worldfarm risisparked ytherapid iberalizationfglobal gri-cultural rade. mall griculturalists'rganizationseared-largely orrectly,s itturned ut-that a more iberal raderegimewould eadto lower ommodity rices, he consol-idationofgiantagribusinesses, homogenization f theglobal food system,nd the erosionof supplymanage-mentmechanisms nd public-sectorupports or armers.Some small griculturalists,uch s Popkin redictedseeabove), dapted othenewly lobalized conomy yenter-ing pecialized,xport-orientedarket iches.Manymore,as Scott 1976:59) had indicated egardingn earlier e-riod n Asia,found he insecuritiesf the new economic








situationmuchgreaterhan those hey raditionallyacedinprotectedocalornationalmarkets.

Transnationaletworkingysmall griculturalistsc-curred otonly s a result fgrowingmarket-basedhreatsbut alsofrom globalizationfmoral conomicnorms.nthe ate 1980s and early 990s, n Europe,NorthAmerica,and CentralAmerica, he advanceof regional conomic

integrationed smallagriculturalistso form ross-bordercoalitionswithcounterpartsn nearby ountries.n In-dia, peasant organizationsuestionedwhether ifeformsthat small farmers ad selectivelyredoverhundreds f

years, uchas basmatirice or the seeds of theneem tree

(whichproducedan excellentpesticide), ould be pri-vatelyappropriated r patented.Theirprotests roughtworldwide ttentiono theTrade-Relatedntellectualrop-erty greementTRIPS, art fGATT GeneralAgreementson Tariffsnd Trade],which becamethe WTO in 2004).Europeanfarmersparredwith giant corporations hat

sought o claimexclusive wnershipfage-old heesecul-

tures r that ounterfeitedocal cheeses. n theearly 990sin Europe, he finalround of GATTtalkssparkedhugedemonstrations,ome of which were attendedby farm-ers fromAsia,Africa,nd theAmericas,s well as fromall overEurope. n 1993,as anti-GATTrotestsmountedin Europe, epresentativesfpeasant nd small-farmerr-

ganizations rom everal ozen countriesmet n Belgiumandfounded transnationaloalition alledViaCampesina(Edelman 003:204-205).21

In ust few ears, iaCampesinahad affiliatedround80 organizationsn some 50 countries.tsmemberships

highly eterogeneous,rangingrom malldairy armersn

Germanyo andless

easantsn

Brazil,rom arm

urplus-producing armersn KarnatakaIndia)to land-poor eas-ants in Mexico,from armworkersn Nicaragua o ricefarmersnSouthKorea" Borras 004:9). Ideologically,ia

Campesina s also diverse, nd participatingroupsfre-

quently isagree verstrategy,lthough ll share broad

opposition o neoliberalismalbeitfor ometimes iffer-entreasons nd withdifferentegrees fflexibilityr in-

transigence).ince 1995,whenVia Campesinarepresen-tatives ttended he GlobalAssemblyn Food SecuritynQuebec City, hecoalitionhas had a risingnternational

profileDesmarais2002:103). Over the nextdecade,Via

Campesina nd its member rganizations ave organized

andparticipatedndozens of"parallel ummits," GO fo-rums, nd internationalonferencesn food, griculture,and andquestions. lthoughmember roups ave t timeslobbied and pressured ationalgovernmentsround hu-manrightsndagrarian eformssues Edelman 003:206-212),ViaCampesina till ees tsprincipal olitical trategyas mass mobilizationBorras 004:24). At the sametime,however,he coalition nd mostof tsconstituentrgani-zations ngage n a conscious ractice ftactical lexibilityand "venue hifting,"eeking he ocal,national, r nter-national ocations-institutionalndgeographical-whichwillpermithem o exerciseffectiveressurer otherwiseattainkey bjectives.22

Whatare theprojects fthese transnationaleasantand small-farmerrganizationsnd how do theyreflectmoraleconomicsensibilities? ere again,forreasonsof

space, can onlybeginto sketch ut an answer. he de-mands ndpolitical ampaigns fViaCampesina ocus nhumanrights, grarian eform,nvironmentnd sustain-able agriculture,iodiversitynd geneticresources,tatereform,nd trade, mongother ssues.Manyofthese n-terrelatedffortsre ndicative f thecontinuingalienceof moraleconomies n understandingeasantprotest,l-

though ust wowillbe considered ere.The firsts thecallto removegricultureromhepurviewf heWTO;the ec-ond isthequestfor food overeignty,"concept o whichI willreturnhortly.

The demandto "take gricultureutofWTO,"heardwith ncreasing requencyince the 1999 Seattleprotestsand the commencementf theDoha WTOround n early2000, is based on severalpremises: 1) that agriculturalproductions not about ustproducing ommodities ut

is a means of livelihood nd nourishment orpeasantsand smallfarmers;232) thatbecause most of the world's

agriculturalutput s consumed omestically,lobaltraderules should apply only to thatportionthat is traded

internationally;243) that "there s no 'world market' f

agriculturalroducts"ViaCampesina 001:6)but,rather,an international rade n surpluses fmilk, ereals, ndmeatdumped rimarilyy heEuropeanUnion, heUnitedStates,nd membersf heCairnsGroup;25nd 4)that theWTO is undemocraticnd unaccountable, as increased

global inequality nd insecurity,romotes nsustainable

production nd consumption atterns, rodesdiversity,and undermines ocialand environmental

riorities"ViaCampesina 001:6).ForViaCampesina nd its upporters,"takinggricultureutof the WTO"meansnot ust crap-ping heAgreementnAgricultureAoA), utremovingr

amending elevant lauses n all otherWTO accords, n-

cluding RIPS, he GeneralAgreementnTradenServices

(GATS), anitaryndPhytosanitaryeasuresSPS),Quanti-tativeRestrictionsQRs), nd Subsidies ndCountervailingMeasuresSCM).

Althoughhe AoA allowsnationalgovernmentsome

leewaynprotectingheir roducersndprovides or spe-cial and differentialreatment" or ess-developedWTOmember ations, ts overall hrusts toward rapidphas-

ingoutof tariffsnddramaticallyccelerated rade iberal-ization.TheEuropeanUnionand the United tates, ow-ever,have been required o makeonlyminorreductionsin their astsubsidy rograms,argely ecausetheyhavebeen able to arguethat direct ncomesupports orfarm-ers that re "decoupled"from roductionevels orpriceshave at worstonlyminimaltrade-distortingffects. iaCampesinahas maintained,n contrast,hat uch"greenbox" subsidies rereally iddenexport ubsidies nd thatthey go, in any case, primarilyo large producers, hoare thenunfairlydvantaged.26ts activists eservepecialscornfor he AoA article hatpreventsmember ountriesfromnvokingWTO dispute ettlementules ntended o







Edelman BringingheMoral conomyackn 339

provide rotectionrom umping.AlthoughheWTOpro-hibits umpingalbeitwithweaksanctions) s one ofthemost nfairnddistortingrade ractices,heproblem er-sists s a result f EU and U.S. subsidy olicies. n general,however,hepeasantorganizationsave been reluctantoattack eveloped-countryarm ubsidies xcept s theym-

pact nternationalommodity rices, umping, nd mar-

ket ccess.Thisreluctanceoesnot stem rom oncern hatthe ubsidy uestion ouldbe a fault ineseparatingarmer

organizationsn developedcountries, speciallyEurope,fromhose npoorer ountrieseventhoughnEurope, sin theUnitedStates, hevastmajority f subsidies o to

largeproducers). s RafaelAlegria, onduran ctivistndVia Campesinacoordinator1996-2004),explained n an

interview,

As anorganizationecan't e againstubsidies,incethat'sreciselyne hinghat ermitshe uropeangri-culturalistso ive, o urvive. oremportanthan ub-sidies,hough,re ust rices. nd he renchndother

Europeangriculturalistsre eryonsciousf hat. heysay,we'll enounceubsidiesutwewant oodprices,just riceshatwedon't ave ow." nd sn'ttpreciselythemultinationalshat etmost f he ubsidies?heytakedvantagef s nd uy heap,toret, nd hen ell.We're or eorientinghe gro-exportodel,he ndus-trialgricultureodel,n favorf n agriculturehat'smore ustainablendbasedmoren the nternal arket.Becausehat therexport-oriented]odel fEuroperthe ndustrializedountriessexactly hat estroyso-cal and nationalmarkets.t'swhat roducesocial ndeconomicumping,s we all t. Alegria,nterviewithauthor,001]

Alegria's emarksresuggestivef thefundamentallymoralbasesofcontemporaryransnationaleasantmobi-lization. Just rices,"nparticular,s a demand hatparal-lelsthemoral conomic rinciplescott escribedor arly-20th-centuryoutheast sia.Here, hough,t s invoked sa transnationalr even universal orm, ather han a lo-cal or nationalone. Some ofthe actorshavechanged ndthe relevantocial fieldhas widened o encompass lobalmarkets, ut "just"behaviorbythemorepowerfuls an

aspirationhat till orms art fcontemporaryeasant c-tivists'mplicitmoral conomy. helanguage mployed-more omplex han n the arly 0th entury-indicatesa-

miliarity ith soteric spects f tradepolicy; dumping,"

for xample, espitets olloquialorigin, ascometo havea technical efinitionn globaltrade ccords see above).As n earliermoral conomy iscourses,hestate s viewedambivalently,ereas a benevolent rovider f direct ndindirect rice upports,ut also as an antagonistnd pro-moter f destructive odelofproductionndcommerce.Thegoalofreorientinggricultureoward he nternalmar-ketwould require shoring p of the state-which,ear-lier,was one of thepeasants'main adversaries-as bul-wark gainst upranational orces. he multinationals,nAlegria's iew, pitomize he market ctorwhoseweightssogreat hat tunfairlyppropriatesesourceshat ught ogo to smallproducers. herule-governedocalmarket ig-

ures sanendangeredpace, heonly ne n which easantshavea realchanceofmaking n adequate iving.Most ig-nificant,hough, orViaCampesina,s that n antisubsidystance, articularlyne that pposedpaymentsorimitingproductionrfor nvironmentalervices, ould ontradictthedemandfor food overeignty."27

"Foodsovereignty"asfirst aised s a demandbythe

Via Campesina n themid-1990s, otably t the1996 FAOFood Security onferencen Rome.The concept aterre-ceivedgreaterheoreticallaboration t an internationalconferencen 2001 in Havana attended ydozensofAPMandViaCampesinamember rganizations,nmeetingsn2002 and 2003 sponsored ythe Tuscanregional overn-ment nd the nternational ommission n the Future fFood andAgriculture[ICFFA] 003),and nother ew net-works fcivil ocietyndNGOs,such as the nternational

Planning ommittee or oodSovereignty.he FAO'sdefi-nition f food ecurity"eferso a situation-at heworld,national,or household evel-in which all people at all

timeshavephysical nd economic ccess to adequatenu-tritious ood.Although AO officialspeakof"food ecu-

rity" s an "entitlement,"ia Campesinaactivistsmain-tainthat echnical alancesbased on supplies nd mouthsto feed ught o be replacedwith commitmento "food

sovereignty."Food sovereignty,"broader onceptthatconsiders ood humanright ather hanprimarilycom-

modity, rioritizesocal productionnd peasant ccess to

land,and upholdsnations'rightsoprotect heir roduc-ersfrom umping nd to implement upplymanagementpolicies.On theonehand, ccordingo PeterRosset ftheInstitute orFood and Development olicy,which works

closelywithVia Campesina, Food security... aysnoth-

ing boutwhere... food omesfrom rhow t sproduced"(Rosset 003). On the otherhand,"Foodsovereigntyoesnotnegate rade, utrather.. promotesheformulationftrade olicies ndpracticeshat erve herightsfpeoplesto safe,healthy nd ecologicallyustainable roduction"(ViaCampesina 001:2).

Peasant and farm activistshave pressedfor "food

sovereignty"n nternationalrganizations,articularlyheFAO,which ince 1996regularlynvites hem o ts onfer-ences.Theyhave also staged number fevents hatbuildon longer easant raditionsnd currentocial-movement

practicesf heatricalityndcarnivalesque rotests,mong

themJoseBov4'sfamous"dismantling" f a half-builtMcDonald's restaurantn southern rance, ndian peas-ants' ttacksn theBangalorefficesfmultinationalraingiantCargill,BrazilianMST supporters' prooting fge-neticallymodifiedrops, nd the nvolvementfBasque,French,Brazilian, nd Honduran activistsn actions nsupport f Palestinian live farmersEdelman2003). InJuly 004,for xample, n "InternationaloodSovereigntyTribunal" onvened nQuito,Ecuador,with heparticipa-tionof Nobel PeacePrize-winner dolfo squivel, panelofdistinguishedurists,nd ndigenousndpeasant rgani-zation eaders romhroughoutheAmericas. hetribunal,which ttracted assivemedia ttentionnSouthAmerica,







340 American nthropologist Vol.107,No.3 * September005

puttheWorldBank nd the nter-AmericanevelopmentBank ontrial" or olicies hathave ed to

the looting f natural esourceshrough eceptivepromises,ressurengovernmentsoprivatizeheirn-terprisesndnationalatrimony,oannegotiationshatinvolvedo consultationith hepopulationsf ourcountries,nd ailedlansndprojectshroughoutatin

America.Vascomes004]

In September004,the30-day People'sCaravanforFoodSovereignty,"rganized ythePesticideActionNet-work,kicked ff n Malaysia,wounditswaythrough 2other Asiancountries,nd finally ulminatedn Nepal,whereMaoist guerrillas rieflyaptured20 participantsand burned heir ehicles Loone 2004). Thecaravanheldforums,arried ut jointprotest ctionswithdiverse o-cal and nationalpeasantorganizations,isited ecologi-cal farms"nd sustainable griculturerojects,nd againdrew argecrowds nd garnered ubstantialmedia cov-

erage. Amongthe participantswas PercySchmeiser,Saskatchewanarmer, ho fought heMonsanto orpora-tion nthe Canadian courts fter isorganic armwas con-taminatedwithgeneticallyngineeredanola from eigh-boringproperties. ilipinofarmers ho claimed to havesufferedastrointestinalilments,kin llergies,nd other

symptomsfter heyplantedMonsanto'sBt corn oinedSchmeisern a forum ndrallywith hebanner David vs.Goliath:Farmers ake on Monsanto" Sape 2004).28 ometwodozen caravanmembersplit ff rom he maingroupand toured rance, elgium,ndGermany-sponsoredytheGerman-based ood Firstnformationnd ActionNet-work nd theFrench lobal ustice rganization TTAC29-

wherethey participatedn roundtable iscussionswithagronomists, armers,nd food activists Wolff 004).The caravan's inaldeclaration ighlightshe moral eco-nomicaspirations ehind this multifacetedransnationaldemonstration:

Food Sovereigntys the nalienable IGHT of peoples,communities,nd countriesodefine,ecide nd m-plementheirwn gricultural,abour,ishing,ood ndlandpolicies hich re cologically,ocially,conomi-cally ndculturallyppropriateo theirnique ircum-stances.t ncludes he rue ighto food nd topro-ducefood,whichmeans hat llpeople ave herightto afe, utritiousnd ulturallyppropriateood nd o

food roducingesourcesnd echnologiesnd he bil-ity osustainhemselves,heir esourcesndtheiroci-eties. hePeople's aravanscallingor n nternationalConventionnFood overeigntynordero nshrineheprinciplesf oodovereigntyn nternationalaw nd n-stituteoodovereigntysthe rincipalolicyrameworkforddressingoodnd griculture.People'saravan orFood overeignty004]

In conversations ithpeasant nd farmerctivistsnLatinAmerica,NorthAmerica,nd Europe, have oftenquestioned hem bout thefeasibilityffoodsovereigntyand oftaking gricultureut of the WTO. Defining owa bushel of wheat can be producedunderdifferentulesfor xport r fordomestic onsumption,rwhen an agri-

cultural roduct eases to be agriculturalnd becomes nindustrial roduct ubjectto WTO rules, re but twoofthe numerous horny ssues thatwould have to be re-solved.The activists' esponses, owever, endnot to fo-cus on such ntricaciesut,rather,n twomainthemes:(1) that onditionswerebetter efore hefoundingftheWTO and (2) thatWTOrules re

profoundlyypocriticaland especially o for griculturalistsn developing oun-tries. aren edersen, young askatchewaneekeeperndCanadian NationalFarmers nion activist,ttended he2001 FAO"Rome+5"meeting n foodsecuritys partofa Via Campesinadelegation. Howpracticals it to keepagriculturen theWTO?"sheasked, ecountingiscussionsat the Rome onference.

At ome ointwehave o top nd ook t our uralys-tem heway hat t s andsay, Youknowwhat? t'snotworking....t'snotdistributingood. t'sproducing oreandmore ood,t's xporting ore nd more ood, ut tis notdistributingt.We're otgainingnworld unger."

If we leaveagriculturehere n WTO? meanall we'regonnahave s,we're oing o have ost ll our mall arm-ers ndwhen he ystemollapseswe're otgoing ohaveany expertiseo rebuild he ystem... Agriculturesthefood ndustry.nd 'm not convinced hatyoushouldbe shipping,or xample, ogs round heworld. t'snotjust hat hat'sheproblem. hippingacon s lso prob-lem. s themaking fbacon consideredndustry?eah,it is. But doesit need to be removed fromWTO]too?Yes, t does. So tome, t'snot enoughto justtaketherawproduct ut. That'snot ust heagriculture.gricul-ture s-you know,we liketo call it agri-industryowor agribusiness-but e used to call it agriculture,ndthat'swhat t s. t's ustwe'vechanged he erminology.[Pedersen,nterview ith uthor, ovember0,2002]

Pedersen'scomments, ike Alegria's, nvoke moralnorms gainst he rules and bureaucratictructureshatgovernglobalmarkets:distribution"s opposedto pro-duction; eliminationfhunger" atherhanexports;ndthe identificationf "agriculture" ithfood, ustenance,and local places. Smallfarmers,he asserts, ave exper-tisethat arge ndustrialperatorsack, nd they remorerespectfulfthe and. Finally,anguage tself-thedefini-tionof griculture-haso be reclaimedo wrest ower romagribusinessorporationsndsupranationalovernancen-stitutions,uch s theWTO.

Theactivists aveprofferedarious roposals or lter-

native nstitutionalrameworksormanaging lobalagri-cultural rade.Via Campesinahas pointedto Article 1of the 1996 International ovenanton Economic, ocialand CulturalRightsICESCR),whichestablishes hehu-manrightofood, nd nterpretedt s recognizingeasantcommunities'ightoretain ccess oproductiveesources(Verhagen 004:16).30 ome Via Campesina rganizationsarehopeful hat heFAOor theUN Conference n TradeandDevelopmentUNCTAD) an assume omeregulatoryfunctionsn agriculturalrade.French arm ctivist os&Bovy, Via Campesinasupporter, as called foran In-ternational radeTribunalmodeledon the InternationalHumanRights ourt Bovy 001:95-96).Underlyinghese







Edelman* BringingheMoral conomyack n 341

discussions,which involvearcaneaspectsof the supra-nationalgovernance ureaucracies,s an olderand morefundamental iscourse boutrights: hetherhe CESCR's

recognitionf a humanright o foodorthe moregeneral-ized demandfor justprices," naffectedytheunethicaltradepractices f the rich andpowerful. ere are echoesofearlier easantdemands nd struggles, uch ikethose

describedby Scott n The MoralEconomy fthePeasant,butinfusedwith he orts f pecialized xpertisehat ontem-

poraryransnationalocialmovementsrequentlyenerate(Keck ndSikkink998:30).

Theprojects f "food overeignty"ndremoving gri-culturefrom he WTO may or maynot be quixoticor

utopian.They mayeven smackof the atavism hateliteshave almost lwaysconsidered ypical f agrarianmove-ments.Butthe discourse f"rights"nd justice, f a "reli-able subsistence,"nd ofa "moral conomy" eembeddedin society-albeitglobalsociety-are clearly heir entral

pillars.

CONCLUSION

The organizationalnd historical ontinuities nd linksbetween ocal, national, egional, nd transnationaleas-ant activism-as well as the politicalexperiences f thetransnationalctivists, hichoften raverse hese varied

levels--provide meansthroughwhich to grasp he con-

tinuing alienceofmoral economicdemands n peasantstruggles.he connection etweenplummeting rices tthefarm ateand subsidy nd tradepolicies hatencour-

age dumping, or xample, s nowwidely omprehendedamong peasants nd farmersfthe most diverse ircum-

stancesn themostvaried laces. nthe ifetimef singleactivist,hestruggle ayhavemovedfromeeking usticefrom ocal elites odefending public-sectorevelopmentbankagainstprivatizationo helping tall WTO negoti-ating ound.Theold moral conomic iscourses bout ustprices, ccessto land,unfairmarkets,nd thegreed fthe

powerful ave echoes in today's trugglesgainstglobaltrade iberalization,heWorldBank'smarket-basedgrar-ian reformrograms,nd corporateffortsogain greatercontrolof the food supplyand plant germplasm. tateand market-the ntagonistsfold-still threateneasantlivelihood oday, longwith thenewsuprastate orms f

governance. ust s Scottdescribed or heformer,o alsoarethe atter: forcesthat] utthroughhe ntegumentfsubsistenceustoms nd traditionalocial relations o re-

placethemwith ontracts,hemarket,nduniformaws"(1976:189).

The riseoftransnationalhpeasantctivism raws n adeep,historicaleservoirfmoral conomic ensibilitiesswell as on old protest epertoiresnd agrarian iscourses.For heactivists, owever,hepressuresfglobalizedmar-kets and the demandsof transnational ollective ctionhaverequired ewdegrees fpolitical ophistication,ewalliances, nd movementhrough trikinglyifferenteo-graphicalnd institutionalpaces.These eaps n the pace

of politicsmayoccur overthe courseof a lifetime ut,at times, heyhappen n a singleweek.Theyreflect oththedensityf ross-borderetworkingndthe ncreasinglyglobal ndcomplex haracterf griculturetself. ssertingmoral conomic emandsnnewpolitical paceshasgivenparticipantsn thetransnationaleasantand farmer et-works n unprecedentedlyynamic enseofthemselvess

political ctors. mpowered ithnewknowledge, oncep-tions f olidarity,nd toolsof truggle,hey repassionateaboutmoral conomic ensibilities;owever,n most ther

respects,hey re s dissimilars can be imagined romhe

unsophisticatedustics hat rban lites nd academics tilloftenmagine hem obe.

MARCEDELMANDepartmentofAnthropology,Hunter Col-

lege,CityUniversityfNewYork, ewYork, Y 10021

NOTESAcknowledgments.greatlyppreciatehe onstructiveommentson earlier ersionsf this rticle hat receivedrom effersonBoyer,inda rasso,ngeliqueaugerud,ane chneider,ndAA'sanonymouseviewers.amgrateful,swell, or ieldworkupportfromheNational cience oundation#SBR-9319905nd#SBR0107491),he SC-CUNYesearchwardsrogram#668480nd#63529032), nd heAmericanhilosophicalociety.1.Popkin's ational easant1979)echoes hisdistinction,l-though ithoutcknowledgingts18th-centuryriginsr he e-jorative eanings-as oted yThompson--thatarlyriticst-tachedo"politicalconomy."2.Thompsonomes lose othisnhis discussionfthe idealexistence"f he paternalistodel" f ocallydministeredom-merce,lthoughedisplaysess nterestpecificallyn the ubjec-tivityf hepoor han nhow ncroachingarketorcesroded

existingegulatorynstitutionsndgeneratedopularesentment(1971:83-88).3. I use thephrase apparentuiescence,"ecause ven houghScott's heMoral conomyf he easant ocused n the onsumingquestionfthepeasanttudiesield-the auses frebellion-itforeshadowednmanyways is aterwritingn the micro-"r"infra-politics"f esistancee.g., cott 985, 990).4. nWeaponsf heWeak,cottmaintains,imilarly,hatthe er-sonalizationfthe auses fdistress"s a significantimensionof howpeasants nderstandndexperiencethe arge bstrac-tions,"uch s "capitalism,mperialism,r hegreenevolution"(1985:347-348).5.Buijtenhuijs2000) rgueshat he iminishedaliencef eas-antriesn the ate20th enturyesulted otonly romrban-izationndrelatedocietalhiftsut lsofromrowingeasantinvolvementnunattractive

predatoryars" nd from

hang-ing ocial cientificashionshat edresearchersocategorizenother erms hat heywouldformerlyaveseen as "peasantwars."6. That several f the revolutionaryovementse.g.,Russia,Algeria,ndCuba) hatWolflassifieds "peasant ars" ere r-guablyot ntirelyr venargely ade pof easantss ndicativeof he xtento which easant-centrichinkingominatedocialscientificiscussionstthis ime. lthoughemobilizedoldiersfrom ural reas ometimesackedevolutionaryartiesndcer-tainlyontributedoendingzarismnRussiaWolf969:87-89),the nsurrectionsfFebruaryndOctober917were rimarilyr-ban norigin.imilarly,lgeria'sationaliberationront ageda mainlyrban uerrillatruggle,acked y own wellers,isaf-fectedeterans,orkers,nd he ationalistntelligentsia.nCuba,Fidel astro's6th fJuly ovementuerrillasventuallyainedsupportromomemiddle"r tacticallyobile"easantsut,s








Wolf imselfuggested, ithoutoutsideeadership,"heywouldlikely aveachieved ittle1969:291-294).7. On the "consumption"fChayanov'sworkby scholars on-cernedwithRussia, sia, ndLatinAmerica,eeBernsteinndByres(2001:13-15),Hewitt e Alcintara1984),Roseberry1993:333-342),andShanin 1972). nanthropology,ossiblyhemost nno-vative seofChayanov'sworkwas nStone ge conomics1972), nwhichMarshall ahlinsmaintainedhat customaryonsumptionrequirements"xplained bservedevels f

productionntensifica-

tion n "primitive"ndpeasanthouseholds.8. Rational-actorpproaches avegeneratedonsiderablekepti-cism.See, amongmanyexamples,Ostrom1990) on commonpropertyesourcemanagementnd Tilly 2001) on contentiouspolitics.9. Other moral conomists" hatPopkin argetedncludedWolf,whose nalysis fthe "closed orporateommunity"1957:2;seealso 1986) highlightedleveling" nd redistributiveendenciesthatmarket-orientedheoristsonsideredverblown,ndMigdal(1974:69),who, imilarly,iewed easants' edistributiveprestigeeconomy" s a key urvivalmechanism.10.Contrastopkin's ssertion oScott's osition hat the nsecu-rities ftheworldmarket ere, n balance,greaterhanthoseofthe raditionalocalmarkets"1976:59).11.EchoingLabrousse, lorescano eclared, The revolution f[Mexican]ndependence,ike heFrench evolution,xplodesnthemiddle f a storm fhighprices. husculminated he attackofsuccessivegriculturalrises n the weak tructuresfcolonialsociety"1969:179).12.Scott sclearlyware fthisdynamic1976:114), lthoughnTheMoral conomyftheeasant eusually nalyzes easants' om-mitmentominimal utreliable eturnss part fa trade-offe-tween ubsistenceroductionndriskierashcropping1976:20-21). Inmuchofthebook,he appearsmainly oncernedwithpro-ducerswhohaveonly limited,ndirect,nd ntermittentommer-cialorientation,swhenherefersopeasants' sale of portionfthecrops oftenntheformfa crop oanthat srepaidnkind)"(1976:114).13. n an earlierwork, eferringo theperiod f theearlyndus-trial evolutionnEngland, hompson eclaredhat someof hemost itteronflictsfthese

yearsurned n issueswhich renot

encompassed ycostof iving eries"1966:203).14. A "subsistenceevel" ssumes, cottwrites,a patternffoodpreferencesnd is itselfhereforeulturallyetermined"1976:17n. 10). Orlove,n an importantrticle hat laborateshepoliti-cal implicationsfthispointfor arly-20th-centuryhile,takesThompson o taskfor iving cant ttentiono suchpreferences(1997:236).Althoughhompson oes notethe feelingsf tatus"that ttached o theconsumptionf whitebread,hisdiscussionemphasizes akers' ndmillers'nterestnproducingt nstead f"the read f hepoor"-coarserwholegrain rnonwheatoaves-theprices fwhichwere egulatedndthatwere hunned ymoreaffluentustomers hosuspected heywere dulterated1971:80-81).15.Althoughhecausesofdeclining rices and levels f volatil-ity)vary omewhat or ifferentommodities,hedownward o-

movement f so manycommodityrices, articularlyince themid-1990s,shistoricallynprecedented.16.Dumping, hich till ccurs ven hought sprohibitednderWTOrules, eferso thepracticef elling roductsbroad tbelowtheir ostofproduction,ypicallyn an effortogainmarkethareorundermineocalcompetitors.17.Also importantn the case of coffee fter 989 is the sus-pension, s a result fdisagreementsmongmember ountries,of the mandatory xportquotas in the International offeeAgreement.18.Little-noticednd undertheorizedspects f this rend, ow-ever,nclude repeasantization"Edelman 999:205-207) ndthedispersionf n increasingroportionf heremainingural op-ulation nto growing umber f ever maller,emote ommuni-ties.Warman, hodescribedhe atter henomenon orMexico,remarkedomewhatomanticallyhat this epresentsformfre-

sistance ourbanization,wayofreproducingifewithouthang-ing t, o that t continues o be as before,s italwayswas,eventhought can never e the ame" 2001:41).19. Some ocial cientists,articularlyutnotonly nEurope,ele-brate his henomenons the new"or"postindustrial"urality.fruralreas nceprovidedabor, ood, nd rawmaterialsor heriseof ndustry,nder he "newrurality"hecountrysidexperiencesgrowthn the servicendmanufacturingectors, hichno longer

requirehe same

degreefspatial

oncentrationstheydid in aFordistconomy.As a result, arm amilieselymore n "pluriac-

tivity"hanon agricultureEikeland 999;Llambi 000;Marsden1995).The imitedpplicabilityfthisparadigmo most ocietiesin theGlobalSouth, speciallyhose n which heurban-basedn-dustriesfthe"postindustrial"orth avenowsettled,houldbeobvious.

20. More detailedtreatmentsnclude those by Borras 2004),Desmarais2002,2003),and Edelman1998,2002,2003).21. "ViaCampesina"maybe roughlyranslateds "peasant oad";evennon-Spanishpeakers,owever,efero theorganizationyits Spanishname. Its activists eliberatelyse the terms armerandpeasant nterchangeablyo highlighthecommonproblemsof mall griculturalistsndevelopednd ess-developedountries.I follow hispractice erefor easons have elaboratedn detailelsewhereEdelman 003:187).

22. VanRooy 2004:20)points ut that ll socialmovementsn-gage in "venueshifting,"ut thatthistendsto intensify hentheyparticipaten transnationaletworks.orras2004:4-5)de-scribesVia Campesina rganizationss "polycentric"-withen-ters fpowerocated t nternational,egional, ational, nd ocallevels. he networkshat ink hem,uch s ViaCampesina,re, esays, oth actors"nd "arenas f ctions," ecause hey ngage nmobilizationsndother ressureactics hile imultaneouslyerv-ingas a forum ordebates nd exchanges fexperiencesmongparticipatingroups nd ndividualsBorras004:4-5).23. Similarly,heViaCampesina grarianeformampaign, hichseeks o presentn alternativeo the WorldBank'smarket-basedagrarianeform odel, tateshat trejectsthe deologyhat nlyconsidersand as merchandise"Borras 004:11).The argumentis reminiscentf Polanyi's onceptof "fictitiousommodities":"Whatwe call and s an element fnaturenextricablynterwoven

withman's nstitutions.o solatet nd formmarketutof twasperhaps heweirdestf llundertakingsfour ncestors"Polanyi1957:178, eealso72-73).24. ViaCampesina nd ts upportersrequentlyuggesthat nlytenpercentf world griculturalutput s tradednternationally(Coordination aysanne urop~enneCPE]2004; Simpson t al.2004; Via Campesina2001:6). The FAOreports, owever,hat"aroundone-thirdf world agricultural]utput s traded nter-nationally"FAO2000).Theproportionf total utput radedn-ternationallyaries reatly ycommodity,rom4percentfcof-fee in1996)to 20 percent fwheat ndfive ercentfrice FAO2000).25. The CairnsGroupconsists f 17 countriesincl.Argentina,Australia,razil, anada,Chile,ndonesia,Malaysia, ewZealand,and SouthAfrica) ithmoderngriculturalxportectorsndmin-imal farmubsidies.n internationalrade alks,thaspushedfor

the reductionnd elimination f export nd other griculturalsubsidies.26. TheWTO categorizesmostkindsofagriculturalubsidiesn"amber," green," nd "blue boxes."The "amber ox" (likethecaution ignaled y he mber olor f trafficight)ncludes ub-sidies hat re onsideredrade istortingndthatmust ereducedover ime,uch ssupport rices r ubsidies irectlyelatedopro-duction utput. ermittedgreen ox" subsidies remainly ro-grams f directncome upport ottied oparticularroductsswell as paymentso farmersor nvironmentalonservation.he"bluebox" contains amber ox"-typeubsidieshat equiregri-culturalistso limit roduction.Green" nd"blue"boxsubsidiesarenot ubject ooverall ational imits. pproximatelywo-thirdsof U.S. subsidiesre now n the"green ox"andone-thirdn the"amberbox,"whileEU programsreapproximatelyne-halfnthe"amber ox" andone-quarterach in the"green" nd "blue"boxes.







Edelman * BringingheMoralEconomyack n 343

27. Rosset rovides succinct tatement fwhat s probablyhemajorityositionwithin iaCampesina:

Subsidies er e are not theenemy. heirmerit ependson how muchthe subsidies ost,who getsthem, ndwhatthey ayfor. o subsidies aid only o arge orpo-rate roducersntheNorth,eading odumpingnd thedestructionf rural ivelihoods n the ThirdWorld, re

bad. Butsubsidies aid to family armerso keepthemon the and and support ibrant ural conomies, ndsubsidies hat ssistwith oilconservation,he ransitiontosustainable armingractices,nd directmarketingolocal consumers,regood.Thereal nemy f farmersslowprices.2003:3]

28. The Monsantocorporation'senetically ngineered t corn(brandname ieldgard) roducesnsecticidal roteins rom soilbacteriumBacillus huringiensis)hatresist orn borer nfesta-tions. Activists ave assailed Monsanto nd otherbiotech eedcompanies or ontributingo thegenetic ontaminationf an-draces nd other ropvarieties,educing opulations fpollinat-ing nsects,hreateninguman nd animalhealth, ndrequiringagriculturalistso purchaseicenses hatoblige hemnot to saveseedsfor uturelanting ycles.

29. ATTAC,whichcampaigns or heTobintax on internationalcurrency ovements nd relatedustice nddevelopmentssues,has chaptersnmany ountries.tsunwieldy ullname sAssoci-ation ourune Taxation esTransactionsfinancibresour 'Aide uxCitoyens.he European egof the caravanwasonlythemostre-cent f everalAsianpeasant rganizationaravans oEuropeseeEdelman 003:203, 12).30. Article1commitsignatoriesf heConventiono"recognizetheright f veryoneoan adequate tandardf iving or imselfand his family,ncluding dequatefood, lothing nd housing,and to the continuousmprovementf iving onditions."t alsocallsfor recognizinghefundamentalightf veryoneo be freefrom unger" nd for rogramstoimprovemethods fproduc-tion, onservationnd distributionf foodby making ulluseoftechnical nd scientificnowledge,ydisseminatingnowledgeftheprinciplesfnutritionndbydevelopingrreforminggrarian

systemsn such way s to achieve hemost fficientevelopmentand utilization fnatural esources."inally,tcallsfor takingntoaccount heproblemsfbothfood-importingndfood-exportingcountries,oensure nequitable istributionfworld ood uppliesin relation o need" OfficeftheHighCommissionerorHumanRightsOHCHR]1976).

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Documents

Edelman, Marc - Bringing the Moral Economy Back in... to the Study of 21st-Century Transnational Peasant Movements, 2005