Marxist Theories of Imperialism by Tony Brewer

Author:Tony Brewer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

7.5 The Persistence of Underdevelopment

Whatever the origins of underdevelopment, Baran argued that a fairly uniform and characteristic social and economic structure had come into existence in the underdeveloped countries, where it blocks further development. The main elements of this structure are: a large and very backward agricultural sector with small-scale peasant production and a parasitic landlord class; a small but relatively advanced industrial sector, partly foreign owned, producing for the restricted local market; a number of enterprises producing for export, typically foreign owned and producing primary products; and finally a large sector of traders, including large-scale merchants who control foreign trade and have close links with foreign capital, as well as petty traders who penetrate into the remoter rural areas.

Baran described this a ‘capitalist order’ (PEG: 300), but the agricultural sector seems to be characterized by pre-capitalist relations of production. Baran did not in fact differentiate at all clearly between capitalist and pre-capitalist modes of production in his discussion; the correct way to draw this distinction has since become a matter of fierce debate. Read in terms of an ‘articulation of modes of production’, Baran’s description would amount to identifying a capitalist urban industry and export sector and a predominantly pre-capitalist rural sector, with merchant capital forming the principal link between the two. This is, I think, how Amin interprets it. On the other hand, we could regard these as being different levels in a ‘chain of metropolis-satellite relations’ in which towns are satellites of the imperialist countries, and the villages are satellites of the towns, as Frank did (cf. Barone 1985, ch. 4). Baran made the internal structure of underdeveloped countries into a central issue in Marxist theory, but his rather descriptive and practical approach leaves the way open for a number of different interpretations.

The starting point of the analysis was, naturally, the economic surplus in underdeveloped countries. He argued that the surplus, while small in absolute terms because of the low level of output, is large in relative terms because mass consumption is depressed to the lowest possible level. The economic surplus is therefore large enough to permit a fairly rapid rate of growth, although from a low starting point. The explanation for lack of growth in underdeveloped countries must lie in the use of the surplus, not in its size.

He put forward a double explanation for the lack of productive investment in underdeveloped countries. The surplus is not available for investment because it is either drained away to the advanced countries or absorbed in unproductive uses, but even if it were not diverted it would not be used for investment, because the incentive to invest is too low. Baran did not separate these two arguments, and so did not explain why he put both forward. Presumably, if the surplus were available for investment but was not invested, this would show up in a chronic lack of demand, falling prices, and an outflow of capital, while if the investment opportunities were there without the available surplus, there would be a permanent boom and a capital inflow.

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