French Literature Reviews - 2026
Thierry Pouch, Essai sur l’histoire des rapports entre l’agriculture et le capitalisme
History, Politics and Society
Thierry Pouch
Essai sur l’histoire des rapports entre l’agriculture et le capitalisme
Paris, Classiques Garnier, coll. "Bibliothèque de l'économiste", 2023
Has agriculture been absorbed by capitalism? In the 19th century, Marx’s answer was affirmative. In France, the question of agriculture's future sparked numerous debates during the 1970s. Today, this issue is well worth re-examining.
The relationship between agricultural production and capitalist economic structures has long engaged economic historians and social theorists. Discussions surrounding agrarian development frequently center on whether farming systems are inevitably subsumed by market imperatives and industrial models. In France, these questions generated substantial debate during the twentieth century, particularly as rural economies transformed under modernization and shifting state policies. Such inquiries remain central to understanding contemporary rural transformations and food production systems within broader macroeconomic frameworks.
Thierry Pouch discusses the history of the relationship between agriculture and capitalism in Essai sur l’histoire des rapports entre l’agriculture et le capitalisme, noting that Marx answered in the affirmative in the nineteenth century. The volume also touches upon the debates regarding the future of agriculture that took place in France during the 1970s.