Moral Economy Of The Peasant (James C. Scott)

Moral economy of the peasant (James Scott)
In this unique yet somewhat oversimplified piece (Moral economy of the peasant) James C. Scott appears to have touched upon a compelling and persuasive account on peasant communities, in particular when it comes to their survival awareness and the values that dominate their underpinnings. Scott depicts the “subsistence ethic” as peasant values of social justice, which are imperative for their survival in an agrarian economy. Put simply, Scott appears to define this economic principle as represented by social contracts of reciprocity, redistribution and forced generosity, communal land, work-sharing and much more. In a farming economy that is periodically bedevilled by dangers of falling below subsistence i.e. environmental uncertainties that could be destructive to production and harvests resulting in food shortages, threats from competitors, and systemic market conditions like market failures, the social experience of these contracts assume a normative character of moral rights and expectations of the landlord-peasant …show more content…
Sadly, the landlords soon turned into capitalists and in search of profit, they no longer protected the peasants (such as lowering rents) during times of bad harvests, and the relationship turned impersonal and transactional. Peasants had still expected the landlords, their patrons, to fulfil their noble duty of ensuring their survival and providing for any deficit. It is here that Scott argues that the violation of this age old arrangement is what exacerbated during the period of the Great Depression and served as catalyst for the rebellous outbreaks in Burma (Saya San Rebellion) and Vietnam (Nghe-Tinh Soviets) in the