The Process of Accumulation

Abstract

This chapter examines various strategies of capital accumulation pursued both within and outside of agriculture. These include the appropriation of surpluses from rice production, land acquisition, rice hulling, salaried employment and opportunities for ‘pohtical’ accumulation obtained through positions of authority in village government and co-operatives. Owing to their superior access to capital, large farmers predominate in all of these activities, with the largest landholders often engaging in a diversified strategy spanning a number of separate ventures. Access to land and capital in itself, of course, does not explain the dynamics of the accumulation process, as it is by no means guaranteed that those controlling agricultural surpluses will invest them productively.¹ Indeed, a comparison of the Subang villages shows that the least dynamic class of large farmers is found in North Subang, the most polarised of the three locations in terms of access to land. As Srivastava points out, patterns of investment and entrepreneurial activity are not predetermined by agro-ecological and demographic conditions, but instead ‘[can] only to be understood through a detailed historical analysis of specific class relations and reproduction strategies’ (1987, 269).