ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that a return to Marxism's emphasis on the total production process in society presents the most promising direction for research on small-scale traders, a growing commercial sector in many third world areas. It examines petty commerce in the context of various modes of production in capitalist social formations. Research among Peruvian marketwomen supports the view of small-scale traders as productive workers in societies experiencing uneven, and dependent, capitalist development. The goods and services offered cheaply by non-capitalist sectors offset the high cost of living to the poor and allow capital to hold down wage levels. Moreover, the employment they provide offsets high unemployment in the capitalist sector. At a time when Peru's dependent capitalist economy is facing deeper troubles, there is evidence of a transition as independent producers and sellers lose ground to larger commercial interests.
