ABSTRACT
Peasantries around the world have followed different paths of change and have developed divergent repertoires of accommodation, adaptation and resistance. The expansion of civilizations, states and global capitalism triggered distinct peasant transformation paths, which are often labeled as processes of peasantization, de-peasantization and re-peasantization. Ever since early village systems were built, peasants have been a major social force in world history. Within capitalism, peasant regimes became premised on new forms of enclosure of land and labor. Peasant regimes diversified according to their location and timing in the capitalist world system, between capitalist core zones, settler zones, plantation zones and peasant agriculture zones. The peasant question queries the role and fate of peasantries within processes of societal transition, especially toward a capitalist world. It explores how peasantries adapted to new societal environments while developing strategies that safeguarded a level of control over vital resources. The neoliberal regime thoroughly rephrased the peasant question, giving transnational financial capital a prime role.
