Terence J Byres
Biographic Data
| ID | 99672 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Terence J Byres |
| GIVEN NAMES | Terence J |
| FAMILY NAME | Byres |
| SIGNATURE | BYRES T J |
| AFFILIATIONS | SOAS University of London |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 43 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 549 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 43 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1966 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| H-INDEX | 13 |
In Pursuit of Capitalist Agrarian Transition
This is a contribution to a long-standing 'conversation' between Henry Bernstein and Terry Byres on capitalist agrarian transition, encompassing the development of capitalist agriculture and capitalist industrialization. Two themes are central: first, the divergence of view with respect to the possible relevance of past transitions for the present (posited by Byres) and the contemporary, pre-emptive power of globalization (argued by Bernstein); a…
Farming to Halves. The Hidden History of Sharefarming in England from Medieval to Modern Times - By Elizabeth Griffiths and Mark Overton
Ideology, Absolutism and the English Revolution. Debates of the British Communist Historians 1940–1956 – Edited by David Parker
Securing the British State, Indian Surpluses and Agrarian Change in Eighteenth Century Scotland
This important book is structured around two issues. The first concerns the political role and extent of East India patronage in Scotland between 1720 and 1784. The second relates to the 'fortunes' amassed by those in receipt of such patronage, the amounts remitted to Scotland, and the use to which these remitted surpluses were put. With respect to the former, a substantive, original contribution is made in four respects: in demonstrating the sig…
Scotland, the Caribbean and the Atlantic World, 1750–1820 ‐ by Douglas J. Hamilton
The landlord class, peasant differentiation, class struggle and the transition to capitalism: England, France and Prussia compared
The three examples considered - England, France and Prussia - are all very important instances of capitalist agrarian transformation. They illustrate, moreover, strikingly different paths of agrarian transition. These are termed, respectively, landlord-mediated capitalism from below, capitalism delayed, and capitalism from above, and an explanation is offered of how these different outcomes came to pass and of why there was such a marked divergen…
From the Retiring Editors
Karl Marx on India Edited by Iqbal Husain
Differentiation of the Peasantry Under Feudalism and the Transition to Capitalism: In Defence of Rodney Hilton
The focus of the essay is one specific theme pursued by Rodney Hilton: that of differentiation of the English feudal peasantry and the implications this had for the development of capitalism in England. His contribution on this, along with those of E. A. Kosminsky and of Maurice Dobb, are considered and are contrasted with the view of Robert Brenner. For Brenner peasant differentiation has no causal importance: it is an outcome of transformation …
Rodney Hilton (1916-2002): In Memoriam
This essay is written in memory of Rodney Hilton (1916-2002), who died on 7 June 2002. He was one of the towering historians of medieval England. Along with the Russian scholar, E. A. Kosminsky, of a previous generation of historians, he provided a formidable Marxist treatment of English feudalism, at once empirically rich, through extensive archival research, and theoretically informed. His work, while displaying a particular vision of the natur…
Neo-Classical Neo-Populism 25 Years On: Déjà Vu and Déjà Passé. Towards a Critique
The Griffin, Khan and Ickowitz argument in favour of redistributive land reform, as a means of eradicating rural poverty, is an updated version of a case made by Griffin 30 years ago, and is here seen as a variant of neo-classical neo-populism. The essential logic presented by GKI is considered and it is argued that the approach is defective in its lack of historical perspective and its deployment of a static approach in a dynamic context: these …
Introduction: Contextualizing and Interrogating the GKI Case for Redistributive Land Reform
The GKI case for redistributive land reform is first contextualized historically: by considering its broad historical context that extends back to ancient times, and its more recent context, that of the effort to secure 'development' in poor countries in the post-1945 era. Two broad forms are briefly considered: tenurial reform and redistributive reform. The decline of land reform in policy agendas from the late 1960s onwards, and its recent reap…
The Peasants Seminar of the University of London, 1972-1989: A Memoir
This is a memoir of the Peasants seminar of the University of London, which ran between January 1972 and February 1989, and to which 208 papers were presented. The following are considered: its origins, the influences which shaped it, and its agenda; the circumstances of its launching; how it gave rise, very directly, to the Journal of Peasant Studies in 1973; its synergy with JPS, especially in the 1970s, and something of its themes, ambience an…
From Peasant Studies to Agrarian Change
This inaugural essay surveys themes and approaches in agrarian political economy over the last three decades, especially with reference to contributions to, and debates in, the Journal of Peasant Studies of which T. J. Byres was editor from 1973 to 2000 and Henry Bernstein editor from 1985 to 2000. We indicate intellectual strengths and lacunae, new approaches to longstanding issues, and new concerns which emerged over that period, and which info…
Perspectives on the peasantries of Europe
A collected volume on The Peasantries of Europe: From the Fourteenth to the Eighteenth Centuries, edited by Tom Scott, is reviewed. It contains an Introduction by Scott; papers on France (Jonathan Dewald and Liana Vardi), Iberia (Teofilo F. Ruiz), Italy (S.R. Epstein), Western Germany (Thomas Robisheaux), East‐Elbian Germany and Poland (William W. Hagen), the Austrian Empire (Hermann Rebel), Russia (Edgar Melton), the Ottoman Empire (Fikret Adani…
Editor's introduction
Rural labour relations in India: Persistent themes, common processes and differential outcomes
1999). Rural labour relations in India: Persistent themes, common processes and differential outcomes. The Journal of Peasant Studies: Vol. 26, Rural Labour Relations in India, pp. 10-24
Chipko, the environment, ecofeminism and populism/neopopulism
Some thoughts on a heterodox view of the causes of low agricultural productivity
A conference volume, Economic Development and Agricultural Productivity, edited by Amit Bhaduri and Rune Skarstein, is reviewed. The aim of the conference was to address the causes of low agricultural productivity in underdeveloped economies, and a group of scholars from various disciplines was invited to consider that issue. Four sets of themes are covered: historical perspectives on agricultural productivity (with papers by Robert Brenner and P…
The South: Slavery
The beginning of the import of African slaves into the ‘New World’ is usually put at 1502, ‘when the first references to blacks appear in the documents of Spanish colonial administrators’ [Fogel, 1989, 18; see also Fogel and Engerman, 1974: 15]. In North America, the first blacks arrived in Jamestown, Virginia (the earliest permanent English settlement in North America — it was settled in 1607) in 1619. In that year, the Virginia Company of Londo…
Capitalism from Above and Capitalism from Below: An Essay in Comparative Political Economy
The distinction between 'capitalism from above' and 'capitalism from below' is important in the analysis of the agrarian question in poor countries. The 'Prussian path' and the 'American path' are her
Political economy, the Agrarian question and the comparative method
This is the text of an Inaugural Lecture, given at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on 28 October, 1994. In it the case for classical political economy, and especially its Marxist variant, as a means of analysing the problems of economic development, is argued. Three major preoccupations of classical political economy are identified: accumulation, class and the state. The agrarian question is considered, and the s…
A Chicago view of the Indian state: An oriental grin without an oriental cat and political economy without classes
Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change
Journal Article Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change Get access Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change. By JAMES K. BOYCE. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Pp. xviii + 308. £29.50 hardback.) Terence J. Byres Terence J. Byres School of Oriental and African Studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume…
Charan Singh, 1902-87: An assessment
Charan Singh (1902-87) is frequently identified as 'champion of India's peasants'. That description refers to his long career as an active politician. Less well known is his written work. That is rarely mentioned, and when it is, the tone (especially that of urban intellectuals) is dismissive. It is argued here, firstly, that Charan Singh was, indeed, an accomplished politician, but one who successfully represented the interests not of the whole …
The new technology, class formation and class action in the Indian countryside
The central aim of this article is to try and assess, on the basis of the existing evidence, what influence, if any, the technological innovations that have been introduced into Indian agriculture since the mid-1960s have hadupon class formation and class action in the Indian countryside. An attempt is made, further, to suggest, if only briefly, the significance of this for urban class formation and class action. The nature of the new technology …
From Peasant Studies to Agrarian Change
This inaugural essay surveys themes and approaches in agrarian political economy over the last three decades, especially with reference to contributions to, and debates in, the Journal of Peasant Studies of which T. J. Byres was editor from 1973 to 2000 and Henry Bernstein editor from 1985 to 2000. We indicate intellectual strengths and lacunae, new approaches to longstanding issues, and new concerns which emerged over that period, and which info…
Of neo-populist pipe-dreams: Daedalus in the Third World and the myth of urban bias
Why Poor People Stay Poor. A Study of Urban Bias in World Development, by Michael Lipton. London: Temple Smith, 1977. Pp. 467; index; tables; £9.50
Agrarian transition and the Agrarian question
Development, Income Distribution and Social Change in Rural Egypt (1952–1970). A Study in the Political Economy of Agrarian Transition, by Mahmoud Abdel‐Fadil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Pp. xiii +157; no index, £5–80
Political economy, the Agrarian question and the comparative method
This is the text of an Inaugural Lecture, given at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on 28 October, 1994. In it the case for classical political economy, and especially its Marxist variant, as a means of analysing the problems of economic development, is argued. Three major preoccupations of classical political economy are identified: accumulation, class and the state. The agrarian question is considered, and the s…
The Agrarian Question, Forms of Capitalist Agrarian Transition and the State: An Essay with Reference to Asia
Of course, infinitely diverse combinations of elements of this or that type of capitalist evolution are possible, and only hopeless pedants could set about solving the peculiar and complex problems arising merely by quoting this or that opinion of Marx about a different historical epoch. (Lenin, 1964a: 33) In the effort to understand the history of a specific country a comparative perspective can lead to asking very useful and sometimes new quest…
Neo-Classical Neo-Populism 25 Years On: Déjà Vu and Déjà Passé. Towards a Critique
The Griffin, Khan and Ickowitz argument in favour of redistributive land reform, as a means of eradicating rural poverty, is an updated version of a case made by Griffin 30 years ago, and is here seen as a variant of neo-classical neo-populism. The essential logic presented by GKI is considered and it is argued that the approach is defective in its lack of historical perspective and its deployment of a static approach in a dynamic context: these …
Historical perspectives on sharecropping
Charan Singh, 1902-87: An assessment
Charan Singh (1902-87) is frequently identified as 'champion of India's peasants'. That description refers to his long career as an active politician. Less well known is his written work. That is rarely mentioned, and when it is, the tone (especially that of urban intellectuals) is dismissive. It is argued here, firstly, that Charan Singh was, indeed, an accomplished politician, but one who successfully represented the interests not of the whole …
The landlord class, peasant differentiation, class struggle and the transition to capitalism: England, France and Prussia compared
The three examples considered - England, France and Prussia - are all very important instances of capitalist agrarian transformation. They illustrate, moreover, strikingly different paths of agrarian transition. These are termed, respectively, landlord-mediated capitalism from below, capitalism delayed, and capitalism from above, and an explanation is offered of how these different outcomes came to pass and of why there was such a marked divergen…
Introduction: Contextualizing and Interrogating the GKI Case for Redistributive Land Reform
The GKI case for redistributive land reform is first contextualized historically: by considering its broad historical context that extends back to ancient times, and its more recent context, that of the effort to secure 'development' in poor countries in the post-1945 era. Two broad forms are briefly considered: tenurial reform and redistributive reform. The decline of land reform in policy agendas from the late 1960s onwards, and its recent reap…
In Pursuit of Capitalist Agrarian Transition
This is a contribution to a long-standing 'conversation' between Henry Bernstein and Terry Byres on capitalist agrarian transition, encompassing the development of capitalist agriculture and capitalist industrialization. Two themes are central: first, the divergence of view with respect to the possible relevance of past transitions for the present (posited by Byres) and the contemporary, pre-emptive power of globalization (argued by Bernstein); a…
Modes of production and Non-European pre-colonial societies: The nature and significance of the debate
Differentiation of the Peasantry Under Feudalism and the Transition to Capitalism: In Defence of Rodney Hilton
The focus of the essay is one specific theme pursued by Rodney Hilton: that of differentiation of the English feudal peasantry and the implications this had for the development of capitalism in England. His contribution on this, along with those of E. A. Kosminsky and of Maurice Dobb, are considered and are contrasted with the view of Robert Brenner. For Brenner peasant differentiation has no causal importance: it is an outcome of transformation …
Rural labour relations in India: Persistent themes, common processes and differential outcomes
1999). Rural labour relations in India: Persistent themes, common processes and differential outcomes. The Journal of Peasant Studies: Vol. 26, Rural Labour Relations in India, pp. 10-24
Scottish peasants and their song∗
1976). Scottish peasants and their song. The Journal of Peasant Studies: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 236-251
The Peasants Seminar of the University of London, 1972-1989: A Memoir
This is a memoir of the Peasants seminar of the University of London, which ran between January 1972 and February 1989, and to which 208 papers were presented. The following are considered: its origins, the influences which shaped it, and its agenda; the circumstances of its launching; how it gave rise, very directly, to the Journal of Peasant Studies in 1973; its synergy with JPS, especially in the 1970s, and something of its themes, ambience an…
China's Economic Revolution
Journal Article China's Economic Revolution Get access China's Economic Revolution. By ALEXANDER ECKSTEIN. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Pp. xii + 340. £12.50 hardback, £4.95 paperback) T. J. Byres T. J. Byres School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 88, Issue 349, 1 March 1978, Pages 170–171, https://doi.org/10…
From the Retiring Editors
Of slumbering academics and peasants’ sons: Perspectives on the peasantry of the Northeast of Scotland
Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk, by William Alexander with an Introduction and an Appreciation by Ian Carter. Towie Barclay Castle, Turriff, Aberdeenshire: Heritage Press (Scotland), 1979. Pp. x + 285, glossary, illustrations. No price. Farm Life in Northeast Scotland, 1840–1914, by Ian Carter. Edinburgh: John Donald Ltd, 1979. Pp. xiv + 258. £12.50 In this review article two books are considered: Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk, by William Alexander, a repr…
The green revolution's second phase
Seeds of the Earth. A Private or Public Resource? by P. R. Mooney. Ottawa: Inter Pares for International Co‐operation and the International Coalition for Development Action (London), 1979. Pp. vii + 120. £5
Securing the British State, Indian Surpluses and Agrarian Change in Eighteenth Century Scotland
This important book is structured around two issues. The first concerns the political role and extent of East India patronage in Scotland between 1720 and 1784. The second relates to the 'fortunes' amassed by those in receipt of such patronage, the amounts remitted to Scotland, and the use to which these remitted surpluses were put. With respect to the former, a substantive, original contribution is made in four respects: in demonstrating the sig…
Rodney Hilton (1916-2002): In Memoriam
This essay is written in memory of Rodney Hilton (1916-2002), who died on 7 June 2002. He was one of the towering historians of medieval England. Along with the Russian scholar, E. A. Kosminsky, of a previous generation of historians, he provided a formidable Marxist treatment of English feudalism, at once empirically rich, through extensive archival research, and theoretically informed. His work, while displaying a particular vision of the natur…
A Chicago view of the Indian state: An oriental grin without an oriental cat and political economy without classes
Rural development: Putting the last first
Journal Article Rural development: putting the last first Get access Rural development: putting the last first. By Robert Chambers. London, New York: Longman. 1983. 246pp. Index. Pb.: £2.00. Terence J. Byres Terence J. Byres 1School of Oriental and African Studies, London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 60, Issue 3, Summer 1984, Pages 477–478, https://doi.org/10.2307/2617619 P…
The political economy of Indian planning: A review article
Pakistan: Its People, its Society, its Culture, The Struggle for Pakistan and Political Development in Pakistan
Journal Article Pakistan: Its People, its Society, its Culture, The Struggle for Pakistan and Political Development in Pakistan Get access Pakistan: Its People, its Society, its Culture. By Donald N. Wilber in collaboration with Donald Atwell. et al. New Haven: HRAF Press. 1964. 487 pp. Bibliog. Index. (Survey of World Cultures.) $8.75.The Struggle for Pakistan. By Ishtiaq Husain Qureshi. University of Karachi. 1965. 394 pp. Bibliog. Index Rs. 20…
The Modern History of Ceylon
Studies in Industrial Policy and Development of India
Foreign Resources and Economic Development, a Symposium on the Report of the Pearson Commission
Scottish peasants and their song∗
1976). Scottish peasants and their song. The Journal of Peasant Studies: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 236-251
Agrarian transition and the Agrarian question
Development, Income Distribution and Social Change in Rural Egypt (1952–1970). A Study in the Political Economy of Agrarian Transition, by Mahmoud Abdel‐Fadil. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Pp. xiii +157; no index, £5–80
China's Economic Revolution
Journal Article China's Economic Revolution Get access China's Economic Revolution. By ALEXANDER ECKSTEIN. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977. Pp. xii + 340. £12.50 hardback, £4.95 paperback) T. J. Byres T. J. Byres School of Oriental and African Studies University of London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume 88, Issue 349, 1 March 1978, Pages 170–171, https://doi.org/10…
Of neo-populist pipe-dreams: Daedalus in the Third World and the myth of urban bias
Why Poor People Stay Poor. A Study of Urban Bias in World Development, by Michael Lipton. London: Temple Smith, 1977. Pp. 467; index; tables; £9.50
The green revolution's second phase
Seeds of the Earth. A Private or Public Resource? by P. R. Mooney. Ottawa: Inter Pares for International Co‐operation and the International Coalition for Development Action (London), 1979. Pp. vii + 120. £5
Structural Change and Development Policy
Of slumbering academics and peasants’ sons: Perspectives on the peasantry of the Northeast of Scotland
Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk, by William Alexander with an Introduction and an Appreciation by Ian Carter. Towie Barclay Castle, Turriff, Aberdeenshire: Heritage Press (Scotland), 1979. Pp. x + 285, glossary, illustrations. No price. Farm Life in Northeast Scotland, 1840–1914, by Ian Carter. Edinburgh: John Donald Ltd, 1979. Pp. xiv + 258. £12.50 In this review article two books are considered: Johnny Gibb of Gushetneuk, by William Alexander, a repr…
The new technology, class formation and class action in the Indian countryside
The central aim of this article is to try and assess, on the basis of the existing evidence, what influence, if any, the technological innovations that have been introduced into Indian agriculture since the mid-1960s have hadupon class formation and class action in the Indian countryside. An attempt is made, further, to suggest, if only briefly, the significance of this for urban class formation and class action. The nature of the new technology …
Historical perspectives on sharecropping
Rural development: Putting the last first
Journal Article Rural development: putting the last first Get access Rural development: putting the last first. By Robert Chambers. London, New York: Longman. 1983. 246pp. Index. Pb.: £2.00. Terence J. Byres Terence J. Byres 1School of Oriental and African Studies, London Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 60, Issue 3, Summer 1984, Pages 477–478, https://doi.org/10.2307/2617619 P…
Amiya Bagchi and the Political Economy of Underdevelopment
Modes of production and Non-European pre-colonial societies: The nature and significance of the debate
The Agrarian Question, Forms of Capitalist Agrarian Transition and the State: An Essay with Reference to Asia
Of course, infinitely diverse combinations of elements of this or that type of capitalist evolution are possible, and only hopeless pedants could set about solving the peculiar and complex problems arising merely by quoting this or that opinion of Marx about a different historical epoch. (Lenin, 1964a: 33) In the effort to understand the history of a specific country a comparative perspective can lead to asking very useful and sometimes new quest…
A Chicago view of the Indian state: An oriental grin without an oriental cat and political economy without classes
Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change
Journal Article Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change Get access Agarian Impasse in Bengal. Institutional Constraints to Technological Change. By JAMES K. BOYCE. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987. Pp. xviii + 308. £29.50 hardback.) Terence J. Byres Terence J. Byres School of Oriental and African Studies Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The Economic Journal, Volume…
Charan Singh, 1902-87: An assessment
Charan Singh (1902-87) is frequently identified as 'champion of India's peasants'. That description refers to his long career as an active politician. Less well known is his written work. That is rarely mentioned, and when it is, the tone (especially that of urban intellectuals) is dismissive. It is argued here, firstly, that Charan Singh was, indeed, an accomplished politician, but one who successfully represented the interests not of the whole …
Political economy, the Agrarian question and the comparative method
This is the text of an Inaugural Lecture, given at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, on 28 October, 1994. In it the case for classical political economy, and especially its Marxist variant, as a means of analysing the problems of economic development, is argued. Three major preoccupations of classical political economy are identified: accumulation, class and the state. The agrarian question is considered, and the s…
The South: Slavery
The beginning of the import of African slaves into the ‘New World’ is usually put at 1502, ‘when the first references to blacks appear in the documents of Spanish colonial administrators’ [Fogel, 1989, 18; see also Fogel and Engerman, 1974: 15]. In North America, the first blacks arrived in Jamestown, Virginia (the earliest permanent English settlement in North America — it was settled in 1607) in 1619. In that year, the Virginia Company of Londo…
Capitalism from Above and Capitalism from Below: An Essay in Comparative Political Economy
The distinction between 'capitalism from above' and 'capitalism from below' is important in the analysis of the agrarian question in poor countries. The 'Prussian path' and the 'American path' are her
Chipko, the environment, ecofeminism and populism/neopopulism
Political science (34 works) · Economics (26 works) · Sociology (26 works) · Law (24 works) · History (23 works) · Law (23 works) · History (20 works) · Politics (20 works) · Agriculture (13 works) · Political economy (13 works)