Land reform and the development of capitalism in rural Iran

Abstract

Prior to land reform in Iran, there existed the articulation of capitalist and feudal modes of production. The relations of production of each mode reproduced/reinforced the relations of production of both. Thus, the relationship among the agents of production (producers and non-producers) were semi—feudal-semi-capitalist. The peasants, being
subjected to feudal exploitation, made attempts in two different periods to end this feudal relationship, but failed.
The fully-fledged development of capitalism was blocked by the articulated combination of the capitalist and feudal modes of production.
The failure of the peasants to remove feudal ties, made it clear that the peasantry on its own was unable to open the way for the development of capitalism (the "American" path). However, the economic and political crisis of 1959-1961 broke the alliance of the feudal landlords on the one hand and comprador bourgeoisie on the other. Thus the latter by mobilizing the peasantry, managed to launch a land reform programme.
This programme removed the set of feudal relations of production and therefore prepared the ground for the development of capitalism. Some peasants received land while the rest became part of the landless and urban proletariat. Some of the landlords began to employ machinery and wage-labour and thus became capitalist farmers. The "American" and "Prussian" paths of development of capitalism went on side by side. The articulation of these two paths of development has become the characteristic feature of rural Iran after the implementation of land reform.