1.2.5.2 Communistic Agriculture
Communistic agriculture can be based on a political and an
ethical-religious syndrome. In contrast to kolkhozes, the
Chinese people's communes are a form of collectivization comprising
all economic and living sectors in other words,not only agriculture.
The entire population in a region belongs to it, not only
the agricultural population. This entity that can be as large
as a rural district organizes within the area it covers agricultural
and industrial production, services, education, health services,
cultural programmes, the administration, and political matters
as well as some aspects of consumption and personal life.
Work is rigidly organized in a fashion similar to in the
military and is descliplined. Internally, they are divided
into three levels that carry out the work (production groups,
production brigades, and communes), whereby the relationships
between state commune and commune-brigade are regulated by
contracts. The economic activities take place within the framework
of state planning that, however, leaves room for local decisions.
The basic needs are regulated in an egalitarian manner and
met with a basic cash wage and pay in kind in the form of
staples as well as free education and health services, etc.
In addition, it proved necessary to introduce bonuses in order
to increase productivity as well as to allow private small-
scale farming. Thus the society is in principle classless,
but bonuses and private household plots as well as the existence
of functionaries led to the formation of new social strata.
However, the differences in income are no longer the result
of differences between persons and/or families but rather
between communes with different production and marketing conditions.
These, in some cases, considerable differences are not directly
noticeable.
The system is still in a process of change and has also led
to important transformations in the society, e. g., the old
family system no longer exists and woman have been granted
equality. It is particularly the success in organizing the
population to build up the economy and form capital that makes
this system attractive for other countries. It must be mentioned,
however, that the possibility of, and conditions for, successfully
introducing the system in other countries have not been adequately
analysed.
Collectivization has not been limited to socialistic systems.
From of old, philosophical and religious communities have
tried to create a way of life devoid of social differences,
property, and mutual exploitation in other words, under the
signs of fraternity, equality, and justice. Usually they were
smalll groups. In durability and significance, the kibbuz
in Israel stands out among the other groups. This is a voluntary
community, comprising people, land, and capital for the purpose
of collective production, distribution, consumption, and living.
In all comunistic forms, coercion played an important role
in making the people take part. This took place either in
the form of political pressure or an acute state of distress
for the population that could be more rapidly overcome in
a collective.
|
