Mass Production or Production by the Masses? Tractors, Cooperatives, and the Politics of Rural Development in Post-Independence Zambia

Datos Bibliográficos

ID8978423
AutoresAndrew Bowman (0000-0001-5132-6121, University of Manchester, autor de correspondencia)
Año2011
Volumen52
Número2
Páginas201-221
Fecha de publicación2011-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853711000235
OpenAlexW2167645608
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas10
Referencias citadas14

The fall of colonial regimes across Africa was accompanied by the rise in expectations for rapid and inclusive rural economic progress. In Zambia, the cooperative production unit was one of two key initiatives at the centre of the United National Independence Party's ambitious development efforts. The other was the tractor. By following these two interlinked initiatives in the years immediately following independence, this article contributes to the under-explored history of early postcolonial development. It argues that both the power of expert groups and the level of continuity between late colonial and postcolonial development was not always as great as has recently been suggested. Cooperative mechanization policies emerged from a confluence of competing claims over knowledge, power and resources. However, as is demonstrated, they also reflected more fundamental tensions in the development endeavour between the prioritization of economically efficient mass production, and inclusive development for the masses

Colonialism · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Economy · Independence (probability theory · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Production (economics · Sociology · Tractor · African history and culture studies · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Engineering · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law