Realistic Meaning of Agricultural Crisis Theory of Marx and Engels

Department of Financial and Economic Management, Modern College of Northwest University, Xi’an 710130, China

1 Introduction

Agricultural crisis is a kind of inevitable phenomenon in the development process of market economy, internal requirement of social economic activity, and objective economic law which does not transfer according to man’s will. Marx pointed out that "reproduction process of economy always mingles with a natural reproduction process in the department (agriculture) regardless of its special social nature"[1]. Even if agricultural crisis is always decided and restricted by social nature, and embodies and reflects economic relation and characteristic of social property, but agricultural crisis itself does not have specific social nature. Agricultural crisis does not have basic and necessary connection with social system, and it is the product of natural reproduction process of agriculture. Agricultural crisis is not capitalist patent and also could occur in socialism. Any change of social production relation could not generate direct influence on agricultural crisis, and a perfect social system could not put an end to agricultural crisis. In fast development process of China market economy, although comprehensive agricultural crisis does not occur, agricultural crisis sign has appeared in local range and individual agricultural product type. Therefore, it has very important theoretic value and actual significance to learn and study agricultural crisis theory of Marx and Engels.

2 Basic contents of agricultural crisis theory of Marx and Engels

2.1DurationofagriculturalcrisislongerthanthatofindustrialcrisisMarx thought that agricultural crisis "is not set according to the periods of industrial and commercial crises"[2]. Compared with industrial crisis, the frequency of agricultural crisis is not so much, but its duration is long. The three world agriculture crises since the 19th century continued for 20 years at least every time. The first agricultural crisis started from prior half period of the 1870s and continued to the end 19thcentury, which lasted for 25 years and swept the Western European countries and the United States. The second agricultural crisis started in spring of 1920, and occurred in the United States, Canada, Argentina and Australia. Then, it mingled with world economic crisis during 1929-1933, and finished until the outbreak of the Second World War. After the Second World War, started from 1948, the third world agricultural crisis broke out in the United States, Canada, Argentina and Australia, and spread to Western Europe, especially serious in the United States. It developed to latter period of the 1960s. Persistence of agricultural crisis is decided by particularity of agricultural production, which contains the monopoly of land private right and capitalist land rent induced by separation between land occupation and land management.

2.2Agriculturalcrisisandindustrialcrisisinter-connectingandinter-restrictingMarx thought that under the condition of various production activities inter-connecting, "surpluses of several major consumption goods is bound to induce universal overproduction"[3]. Meanwhile, "each factor integrated in these crises is bound to appear in each field of bourgeois economy and obtain clarification"[3]. Marx also pointed out that "when overproduction is only limited in industry, it is only the half of problem. When it affects agriculture, and tropics and temperate are both contained, things are big"[4]. It is clear that when agricultural crisis and industrial crisis co-occur, they intertwine with each other and inter-affect, which promotes economic crisis further deepening and difficult to be ridded.

2.3AgriculturescienceandtechnologyinnovationmakingseriousexcessofagriculturalproductsMarx pointed out that "the most obsolete and unreasonable management is replaced by conscious application of science in the technology. Original family tie of agriculture and workshop handicraft industry, which is the tie joining their early development forms together, is broken by capitalist production mode"[5]. Capitalist management of land makes that agricultural productivity obtains unprecedented improvement. On the one hand, modern science and technology results are used generally. "Land is managed by industrial manner. Therefore, its chemical and mechanical production conditions and even seed, domestic animal and chemical fertilizer all need metabolism, but only uses own manure like before"[6]. On the other hand, socialization degree of agricultural production is improved. "When agriculture is developed, its all factors are taken as the commodity adding in agriculture not only in the form but also in actuality. That is to say, there factors are from outside and are products of some producers(seed, fertilizer, domestic animal and animal by-products)"[3]. Meanwhile, "there are a considerable part of people in non-agricultural population undertaking the work servicing for agriculture. They offer constant capital, and the constant capital continuously increases with agricultural technology progress, such as mineral fertilizer, foreign seed and various machineries"[3]. It is clear that in the process of agricultural productivity improving, severe excess of agricultural product is inevitable. Of course, this kind of "overproduction is only related to the demand with payment ability. Here, it does not involve absolute overproduction and is not overproduction itself related to absolute demand or the will occupying commodity"[3].

2.4CapitalistagriculturalsmallproductionaggravatingexcessofagriculturalproductMarx thought that in traditional agricultural society, "every farmer is almost self-sufficient and directly produces his own most consumption goods. Therefore, their living materials mostly change with nature but not social communication. There is a small piece of land, a farmer and a family; nearby, there is another small piece of land, another farmer and another family. A group of such units form a village, and a group of such villages form a province"[7]. But based on capitalist production mode, destiny of small production changes greatly. "The development of capitalist production mode cuts off the lifeline of agricultural small production, and this kind of small production is walking to death and decay inevitably"[8]. Under the strike of agricultural crisis, to maintain a small piece of land and avoid collapse, small production has to use land fertility in predatory style to maintain production. Therefore, production reduction during agricultural crisis period is not as sharp as industry, but is very slow, and sometimes production has certain growth. Thus, it makes capitalist agriculture in overproduction crisis for a long time.

2.5ThedevelopmentofagriculturalcrisisbringingrealrevolutionoflandrelationshipMarx pointed out that "agricultural crisis will gradually aggravate, develop and reach its peak, which will induce real revolution in land system relationship"[9]. On the one hand, "the most revolutionary role of large industry in agricultural field is eliminating fortress of the old society——‘farmer’, which is replaced by the hired laborers. Therefore, the demand of social transformation and social opposition in the countryside are same as that in the city"[5]. On the other hand, "population continuously flows to the city, and rural population is continuously becoming ‘excess’ because of concentrated land hire, farmland becoming pasturage and machinery utilization, and rural population is continuously expelled because of house demolition. These phenomena occur simultaneously. When population is rare in a region, ‘relative surplus population’ is more, and employment pressure is larger, and absolute excess of rural population more than house is larger. Then, endemic population surplus and population crowding phenomenon which is easy to infect disease is more serious in the countryside"[5]. Real revolution induced by agricultural land system relationship is qualitative stipulation of agricultural economy operation process and large trend of agricultural department development.

3 Realistic meanings of agricultural crisis theory of Marx and Engels

3.1AnalyzingandstudyingnewfeaturesofagriculturalcrisisundersocialisteconomicconditionBesides less occurrence times and long period, agricultural crisis under socialist condition also has these new characteristics: prevention, control and limitation. Firstly, agricultural crisis under socialist condition has preventive feature. Under the precondition of not violating market economy law and working according to market economy law, socialist countries could use the strong roles of state political and economic powers to postpone and deter occurrence time and space of agricultural crisis by the regulation and integration of macro and micro economic policies. Secondly, agricultural crisis under socialist conditions has controllable feature. For agricultural crisis occurred under socialist condition, state character decides that conscious adjustment and correction could be conducted via various means, thereby guiding that agricultural crisis develops toward healthy direction, and even occurrence period of crisis could be shortened. Finally, agricultural crisis under socialist condition has limitation feature. Once agricultural crisis occurs, its harm and influence will be inevitable. Via various measures, socialist countries could limit crisis harm and influence within certain range, and makes it decay and weaken. Of course, functions and roles of these new characteristics are not formed spontaneously, but could be realized by playing subjective initiative and hard work. It is childish and ridiculous to think that new characteristics could automatically reach the predicted effect.

3.2EstablishingeconomicstructuresystemandeconomicoperationmodeofindustrialandagriculturalintegrationWith the overall opening of China’s market, establishment and perfection of market economy new system, the past self sealing and self blocking situation between industry and agriculture has basically finished, and industrial and agricultural integration system model has become total trend of the development. Firstly, it must enhance cooperation and joint between industry and agriculture. Industrial department has strong technology and high scale production level, which could offer cheap industrial manufactured goods for agricultural department. Agricultural department has very rich labor resources, which could offer cheap labor for industrial department. Under this kind of condition, even if both sides have economic crisis, due to high integration degree, it also could defuse harm and impact induced by the crisis. Secondly, it must enhance cooperation and union between urban and rural areas. City could offer a large number of practical techniques for rural area and promote the improvement of agricultural science and technology level by the advantage of science and technology research. City also could use the function of education, science and culture center to train a large number of practical talents for the rural area. Meanwhile, city also could use the advantage of large labor space to provide reemployment opportunity for a large number of rural surplus labors. Finally, perfect business and trade center, technology consulting center, education and training center, and information issue center should be established for providing direct and zero distance service for industrial and agricultural integration.

3.3AcceleratingscientificmanagementofagricultureandimprovingindustrystructurelevelofagricultureTo adapt to the demand of modern economy, agricultural development must conduct science and technology management and improve industrial structure level. Firstly, science and technology management is the fundamental way out for agriculture development. Science and technology management improves technical level of agricultural production and overcomes unreasonable status of price scissors in price parity between industrial and agricultural products. Marx pointed that "when the city with relatively small amount of labors exchanges with village with relatively large amount of labors, it will obtain excess profit and wage"[3]. For a long time, the price scissors problem existed in price parity between industrial and agricultural products of China is very serious, and the key of improving the status is rising technical level of agricultural sector. Seconding, socialized large-scale production is the inherent requirement of agricultural production development. With deep development of domestic economy integration, any production unit can not exist alone, and any production department must inextricably links with other production departments. China agriculture is a production department with very strong weakness. Due to low degree of social organization, it needs other production departments providing not only material goods, such as tool, device, facility and building, but also immaterial data, such as culture, education, law, information, consultation and network. Finally, it should continuously improve industrial structure level of agriculture. Single industry structure model under traditional agricultural economic condition can not adapt to the demand of modern agriculture development, and is easy to cause saturation and excess of agricultural product. Only by improving industrial structure level of agriculture, can it effectively prevent agricultural crisis.

3.4Overcomingoperationmodelofsmallproduction,andacceleratingthestepofagriculturalindustrializationmanagementMarx pointed out that "there are a large number of peasants, and their living conditions are same, but there are not many relationships between each other. Their production manners does not make them communicate with each other but isolate them from each other"[7]. Only by denying operation model of small production, can the operation model of large agriculture and modern agriculture be established. Firstly, small production is incompatible with socialized large-scale production. Due to historical and actual reasons, small production exists in Chinese rural areas like a vast expanse of water. The status illustrates that the key of a new round of land system reform in Chinese countryside should be transforming operation model of small production. Secondly, industrial management is inevitable choice of modern agriculture development. Operation model of small production conducts according to natural reproduction process, and the produced agricultural economic benefit in the process is very limited. Industrial management overcomes management model of small production, and realizes organic combination of agricultural natural reproduction and economic reproduction, thereby creating huge agricultural economic benefit. Finally, industrial management is conducive to China agriculture integrating with international agriculture. All over the world, although a large number of small production business models are kept in many developing countries, industrial management is total direction of international agricultural development. Therefore, only via vigorously developing industrial management, can agriculture of the developing country be included in the process of world agriculture development, which is conducive to improving the position and role of agriculture in the developing country in international agriculture. International agricultural industrialization is also one of channels for effectively preventing agricultural crisis.

3.5Deepeningrurallandsystemreform,andimpellingurbanizationprocesswithChinesecharacteristicsRural land system reform in China greatly improves the relation between city and countryside, and impels urbanization process with Chinese characteristics. Urbanization could examine and solve the problem of agricultural crisis from the deeper sense. Firstly, household contract responsibility system greatly liberates productivity in China’s rural area, which is implemented under the situation that China economy is extremely difficult. Household contract responsibility system makes rural production relation adapt to productivity, which opens broad development prospect for the productivity. Secondly, rural land system reform induces deep change. Rural land system reform promotes commercialized operation of China agricultural production, gradually establishes agricultural trade system within the scope of the region, nationwide and even worldwide, and expands market space of agricultural product. Meanwhile, the improvement of agricultural productivity level makes that a considerable number of farmers become redundant labors, and these redundant labors become the basis of migrant workers. Finally, it should continuously impel urbanization process with Chinese characteristics. Engels pointed out that "compared with the city, countryside also has itself advantages, that is, cheaper workers could be hired there"[10]. Large quantity of surplus rural labor forces offer cheaper migrant workers for urban construction, which greatly declines the cost of urban construction and buffs rural labor surplus crisis. It changes the closed status of city separating from countryside, and narrows the distance between city and village by a large number of migrant workers going into the city, making that migrant workers learn technical ability, get rid of a state of ignorance, and continuously walk to civilization. This is allocation manner of labor resource with typical Chinese feature,which corresponds with China’s national situation, and is the best way regulating shortage and surplus of urban and rural labor forces.

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