Rationalität oder irrationalität bäuerlichen wirtschaftens im kontext staatlicher politik?. Haushaltsstrategien in mexikanischen ejidos (das beispiel der chenes-region, Campeche)
Agrarian village communities (comunidades) in Mexico and other Latin American countries are still described today, particularly in political discourse, as the epitome of the communitarian economy of Indian peasants and their way of life. The principles by which they distribute and utilise their land are considered "traditional". Although first introduced in the course of the agrarian reform that succeeded the Revolution (1910-1917), even the Mexican ejido is looked upon as a traditional community. Yet, government officials, agricultural technicians and most of the population consider "peasants" (campesinos) in rural communities ineffective and many of their economic decisions irrational. They believe that labour, capital and the means of production are not put to sufficient agricultural use. Ejido producers do, in fact, occasionally sell important means of production such as tractors or fertiliser, although they could use them in cultivating their own fields. Despite access to modern cultivation techniques, ejidatarios frequently persevere with traditional agricultural methods. Many of the development programmes carried out in rural village communities at considerable financial expense have virtually failed. According to government sources, the success of private agricultural enterprises indicates that rural economic activities are particularly affected by cultural factors. Moreover, the organisational structure of ejidos and comunidades combined with the paternalism of former governments had also played a role in hindering campesinos from becoming "sensible" producers. This thesis argues that the indiscriminate negative assessment of the social sector (ejidos and comunidades) and the allegation that peasants in rural communities behave irrationally - in the sense of pursuing practices that are foolish, obsolete and contrary to current standards for "traditional" reasons or due to a certain attitude (such as laziness, for instance) - are essentially the result of a narrow viewpoint that does not do justice to the specific features and inner logic of the household economy of the rural lower classes. Rationality is here commonly equated with economic success, the significance of which is measured by the size of the harvest per hectare or the proceeds from selling their products. Most economic and anthropological studies on agrarian societies reveal a similarly biased viewpoint, relying on fundamental assumptions of classic and neoclassic economic theories. Their statements emanate from the initially plausible assumption that a desire for profit maximisation is the basis of rational economic performance. In other words, man strives for the greatest possible utility with the least amount of effort. In designing models, particularly those that apply mathematical calculations, the term utility is reduced to one or more dimensions (especially profit or wealth). Furthermore, it is generally assumed that actors are in possession of the necessary skills and can wholly predict the results of their work. In reality, however, individual scope for activity is usually subject to constraints and the available information incomplete. For the actors themselves, the consequences of their actions are not always clear in advance. The concept of profit maximisation is extremely misleading in my opinion when it is reduced to merely one or more dimensions, since actors define it subjectively, depending on the situation and in relation to different needs. Strategies for the satisfaction of needs can be applied in the short or the long term. Activities are often the result of considerations whereby an acceptable, albeit in individual dimensions not always maxium degree of utility is sought for a variety of simultaneously competing needs in the form of a compromise. The rationality of a specific economic activity can, therefore, only be understood if embedded in the framework of its contemporary and historical context.
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| Format: | Texto biblioteca |
| Language: | ger |
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Berlin, Germany Freien Universität Berlin. Fachbereich Politik und Sozialwissenschaften. Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwürde
2002
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| Subjects: | Economía agrícola, Tenencia de la tierra, Campesinos, Historia económica, Productividad agrícola, Economía rural, Política pública, Frosur, |
| Online Access: | http://www.diss.fu-berlin.de/2003/237/index.html |
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