Land and Freedom Today?

[Partigano]

Comrades I have a question regarding Agrarianism in the Modern Era. Should we as Revolutionary Leftists work towards a new Radical Agrarian Movement? My family in Italy tells me that some of the kids (my cousins who are all ~20) who went north to the Industrial Triangle for Work have returned and are growing vegetables and the like to sell in the name of getting by. What if we were to encourage more of the people who are unable to get an industrial job (not just in Italy but the whole of the developed world) now that Imperialism has moved on to the “developing countries” to grow vegetables, cereals, and other foodstuffs in a collective manner? It could be done similar to squatting, see an unused bit of land? Sow some seeds there, find a Comrade with a rotor-tiller and quickly (even covertly save for the loud engine noise) turn an unused parcel into a field that is producing.

Managed by Radicals these Agricultural Squats/Collectives could serve the dual purpose of A) providing people with fresh vegetables and the like, and B) bringing people to appreciate Communal Labor and being exposed to Communist Ideology.

I suppose many of these functions are done by Community Gardens and this is not necessarily a new idea, but what I'm talking about isn't so much the idea of growing stuff but the idea of trying to mobilize the unemployed on a mass scale to grow stuff.

Anyone with information on Modern Radical Agrarianism please don't hesitate to hook me up.

[Popular Front of Judea]

Everything old is new again... (http://sidewalksprouts.wordpress.com/2008/04/13/depression-relief-gardens-1930-1938/)

[danyboy27]

Well, there are 2 ways of looking at this.

First of all, self provisioning(growing your own food, hunting) can be used by capitalists has a justification for paying lower wages, Henri Ford for exemple encouraged its workers to grow a small garden for that verry purpose.

On the other hand, capitalists and economists always hated the relative autonomy of the free pesantry beccause they scorned wage labor all together.

if a rather large portion of the country can become self sufficent by cultivating commonly owned land, it could force the capitalists there to change their tactics, but dont imagine you are out of the wood yet.

What is most likely to happen fallowing that is a push for primitive accumulation (depriving the workers of their way of avoiding wage labor) trought laws. they might try to tax your productions, higher land taxes, expell people to make place for ''private developpement'' etc etc.

at this point if the population hold its ground long enough, they might inspire other to do the same and change the balence of power.

So yeah, it might be worth a try.