The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1930-10-04
BY HARRISON GEORGE


IAN excerpt from, the Agraridn Report to
the Seuenth Convention Of the Communist
Party OF the q. s. A.
THERE are many errors, many pitfalls possible
in our attitude toward the agrarian question.
We wish to deal with especially wrong
viewpoints
First: The Idea that capital-hnance capital
is not penetrating agriculture. This is a social
democratic view, the view that holds that the
small rural proprietor Is economically
sound basis, phase Of Bernstein's revision of
Marxism.
And this social democratic view creeps into our
Party, sometimes disguised in loose talk about
working farmers or dirt farmers" which only
confuses the Party and takes account of their
status specific categories within the agrarian
bourgeoisie. We must, as against this, charac-
terize farmers according to their capital-small,
moderate or large capital-as poor, middle and
rich farmers-and, besides these the farm cor
porations
1 think our Agrarian Thesis fully proves the
penetration of finance capital into agriculture.
Commercial farming and not sef-sufficing farm
ing, is predominant. The American farmer pro-
duces for the market and Is involved in the net
work of capitalist commodity production. As
Comrade Lenn has said, 1.-THE small farmer,
whether he likes 1t not, whether he Is aware
of it or not, becomes commodity producer
In the development from self-suficing to COM
modify production there must develop, and has
developed, also the mechanzation of agriculture.
capital and on the basis Of increased capital in
vestment comes the dominating role of finance
capital The tremendous debts, mortgages, in
terest payments etc, show its penetration
Growth in Number-and Poverty
Some social-democrats point to the growth in
number Of farms long period; for example,
citing that from AS, 073 farms in 1850 the num-
Der has grown to 6.44S343 in 1920 as proof of
the economic soundness of the small rural pro-
pretor But they do not take into account the
change from self-suf1cing to commodity produc-
ton; they ignore the penetration of capital and
hence the growth of class differentiation the pro-
portional growth of the rural proletariat of mass
poverty and the degeneration of that section of
agriculture, and great section, too, which
tinues production upon the one-famy basis.
We cannot escape the conclusion that finance
capital is penetrating agriculture. To say that
it has not, is to say that capitalism has not
grown in agriculture, that, having grown, it
has mysteriously escaped coming under the DOM
nation of finance capital-which is nonsense.
Finance capital is the dominant capital of the age
Of Imperialism, and it is dominant in agriculture
as in other industries.
second question about which there is an err
roneous idea: Is finance capital in agriculture
progressive in character? Some social democrats
hold the view that the role of capital in agricul-
ture is progressive; that it is building the tech
meal basis for socialism. These social-demo-
Gratis of course reject the feminist characterize
ton of capitalism in the period OF imperialism,
the essentially parasitic nature of finance capital
which is not progressive in character. Unfor-
tunately, this idea in one form another affects
many Communists and for that reason we must
clarity the role of finance capital
In agriculture, the dominating role Of finance
capital of capital Imperialism retards or limits
disqualification and is parasitic in character.
The parasitic role Of finance capital is shown by
the fact that in the main, 1t does not engage
directly in agricultural production, but lives as
parasite upon production
On one hand it seizes upon control Of market
ing and marketing facilities; on the other it
fastens load of debt, from which it extracts
usurious interest, upon the producers who are
pressed into debt by their very need to get in
creased machinery and other supplies. 1t is
VIGOROUSLY a fact that the marketing of farm
produce is completely out Of control of the farm
ers. Everywhere we read in the daily press of
wheat kings" "artichole kings" and Asparagus
princes" The people farm the farmer" an old
slogan which still holds good