[lbo-talk] Our peasants

Patrick Bond pbond at mail.ngo.za
Fri Jan 18 07:15:32 PST 2008


Chris Doss wrote:
> Ate these people involved in hunting, fishing, etc.
> entirely, or is it supplemental to another source of
> income?
>

The old question for SA rural experts: where'd that peasantry go? Most believe there isn't a pure (or near-pure) peasantry as you find elsewhere on the continent, due to the very advanced state of proletarianisation under apartheid via migrant recruitment and the bantustan relocation strategy. I tend to agree from what I've seen. People supplement meagre urban-rural remittances or state grants with food grown at home (or fished), but no, it's rarely the only income. However, the point is that roughly a million people who are considered to be 'employed' using the ridiculous official definition which blends formal and informal activities receive less than R1000 (around $140) a month.



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