The Dispossession of the Peasantry (ص 265)
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- عنوان
- The Dispossession of the Peasantry (ص 265)
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249
much less than the total expenditure figure indicates. Nonetheless, the average
annual expenditures for 1933-1934 to 1944-1945 of about £P 179,000 was still
inadequate given the general conditions of Arab agriculture and peasantry. At any
rate, the average annual expenditure figure belies the fact that most of the
expenditures were during WWII.
It is obvious, by and large, that a colonial power is by definition and
historical evidence not in the business of pursuing the development of its colonies
except in ways that fall within the framework of its own interests. This was the
case in Palestine where government expenditures and efforts increased during
WWII in order to assure greater agricultural production as part of the overall war
requirements. The fiscal policies of the mandatory government were in accord with
the usual practices in Britain’s other colonies where each colonial administration
was required to generate its expenses locally without any burden on the treasury in
London. It did not matter that Palestine was, “legally speaking,” a mandated
country and not a colony.
The reason for investigating the extent of the government’s efforts in
agriculture were rather to show that without meaningful support, Arab agriculture
as a whole could not have “modernized,” in spite of some inroads in that regard.
In addition to the inadequacy of government support, Arab agriculture was, more
crucially, faced with the competition from implanted settler capitalism with
relatively massive resources.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. - هو جزء من
- The Dispossession of the Peasantry
- تاريخ
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- المنشئ
- Riyad Mousa
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