ABSTRACT

Bridging a gap between macro- and micro- viewpoints, the work shows the ways in which an economy is socially and historically determined. Subsistence is shown to be not only a form of agriculture but a determinant economic organisation and particular attention is paid to the problem of understanding patterns of distribution and the constitution of the surplus in the peasant economy.
First published in 1978.

chapter |22 pages

An economy evolves

chapter |28 pages

Household production

Subsistence and surplus

chapter |38 pages

The production process

chapter |22 pages

Organizing a labour force

chapter |12 pages

Horizons and reflections