What is the small-scale peasant economy? Why should we emphasize agriculture and restrain business?

Small-scale peasant economy, which can also be said to be a natural economy, is characterized by dispersion, and the products produced are used for self-consumption or mostly for self-consumption, rather than for commodity exchange. For example, the socio-economic situation of feudal society was dominated by small-scale peasant economy, and now this economic phenomenon exists in a large number of remote rural areas.

However, the small-scale peasant economy is not completely equivalent to the natural economy, which emphasizes the family as the production and living unit, while the natural economy is mainly opposite to the commodity economy. Small-scale peasant economy was born under the background of Tieli Niu Geng in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and natural economy was born as early as the primitive society.

evolutionary process

China's feudal society evolved from a slave society without foreign aggression. China's slave society practiced state ownership of land, and all the land owned by the state was owned by the supreme ruler of the country. It was called "the land under heaven, the land of kings, the land of kings, the land of kings?" (The Book of Songs Xiaoya Beishan). After the Spring and Autumn Period, with the development of productive forces, the original land system was destroyed. After the emerging feudal forces seized power, they successively implemented political reforms, established private ownership of land, and allowed "people to buy and sell land." Since then, private land system has become the main form of land system in China feudal society.

On the one hand, private ownership of small land. At the same time, it will inevitably lead to the phenomenon of land merger, and there will be "rich fields and even buildings". A situation in which the poor have no place to stand. Formed the form of private ownership of large land. These big landlords were the landlord class in the feudal society of China. Since the Tang Dynasty, they exploited individual farmers who lost their land in the merger in the form of hidden family slavery and tenancy. Therefore, farmers in feudal society in China have always been composed of two kinds of characters: the yeoman who occupies a small amount of land and means of production and the tenant farmer who is attached to the landlord class (formerly known as the hidden farmer). But no matter what kind of farmers, they are self-sufficient small-scale peasant economies.

The private ownership of land in China feudal society, whether it is small land private ownership or large land private ownership, is not a pure form of private ownership, but a land private ownership dominated by the highest state ownership. This is not only because of the traditional influence of the state-owned land in the slave society of China, but also because all countries in the Warring States period confirmed the private ownership of land in the name of the state. Therefore, the sacred principle of "the world is the king's land" in slave society was inherited in feudal society and combined with private land system in a new form. In the feudal society of China, the highest ownership of land by the state was not only reflected in people's ideas, such as the declaration made by Qin Shihuang on the Langya stone carving: "Within Liuhe, the land of emperors, people go to the courtiers" (Historical Records of Qin Shihuang's Biography), and the land equalization system implemented in the name of the state in Wei, Jin and Tang Dynasties; Moreover, it is mainly manifested in the final disposal right of each mu of land in the national cadastre and the direct taxation right of each population in the household registration book owned by the supreme rulers of past dynasties.

On the one hand, this small-scale peasant economy based on private ownership of land dominated by the highest state ownership gives individual farmers more freedom, even tenant farmers. Apart from being exploited by the landlord class, they are not under their personal control; On the other hand, they have to be dominated by state power, which is very different from manor economy and serfdom in feudal society in western Europe.

This small-scale peasant economy dominated by the highest state ownership is the fundamental feature of China's feudal social and economic structure, and it is also the deep foundation on which all feudal political, cultural and other superstructures are built and exist for a long time.

French jacobins reform and Russian serfdom reform are typical of small-scale peasant economy;

During the French Revolution, the revolutionary wave pushed jacobins onto the historical stage. Subsequently, a decree was issued to divide the land into small pieces for farmers to cultivate.

At present, the theory of small-scale peasant economy is greatly influenced by American agricultural development theory, which is divorced from the reality of China. Professor Huang Zongzhi pointed out in his article that "[font class =" apple-style-span "style =" color: RGB (5 1, 51) "; Font series: Verdana height: 25pxId="bks_d2fdhoj 1"] Thinking about the agricultural problems in China, we must realize the reality that the small-scale peasant economy will last for a long time, which highlights the necessity for the state to play a key role. What is needed today is not to mechanically copy the highly ideological American agricultural development theory that is not in line with China's reality, nor to imitate the American model, but to create China's own development model. The fundamental problem is how to stimulate and support the enthusiasm of small-scale family farms. This should include a series of institutional choices: providing financing channels with small family agriculture as the main goal (such as interest-free or low-interest loans), triggering agricultural cooperation with small family agriculture as the main body, providing necessary conditions for its production, transportation and sales, and providing it with necessary cheap post-industrial biotechnology. In this way, it is possible to create a low-cost, high-yield economic environment emphasized by Schultz by using new technologies, so as to give full play to the innovation and enthusiasm of small agriculture. In addition, the state provides basic medical insurance for farmers to alleviate the insecurity that farmers feel strongly under the contrast between urban and rural areas today. The fact is that only with the active leadership and support of the state can we arouse the enthusiasm of farmers in Schultz's theory and solve the economic roots of today's three rural issues through market mechanism. (See [font] past lives of China's small-scale peasant economy-right and wrong of Schultz's theory [font]) [/font] [/font]

Development conditions of small-scale peasant economy

First, there is more freedom.

Second, farmers under the small-scale peasant economy have a certain amount of land, farm tools or farm animals.

Advantages and disadvantages of small-scale peasant economy

Under the small-scale peasant economy, farmers have mastered the means of production and tools, and their enthusiasm for production has increased. Farmers operate on a small scale. Farmers have made great efforts to improve farming techniques on limited land, which has made important contributions to the intensive management of agriculture in China. However, under the heavy oppression and exploitation of the feudal landlord class, farmers suffered heavy labor, and the small-scale peasant economy was very fragile. Every time there is famine and plague, most peasant families will fall into poverty, lose their land or go bankrupt and go into exile. Attaching importance to agriculture and restraining commerce is the most basic economic guiding ideology of China feudal dynasty, which advocates attaching importance to agriculture, taking agriculture as the foundation and limiting the development of industry and commerce. The policy of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business was reflected from the encouragement of agricultural war stipulated by Shang Yang's political reform, to the measures of attaching importance to agriculture by Emperor Wen of Han Dynasty, and until the economic adjustment was resumed in the early Qing Dynasty.

First, the reasons for the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business.

It is no accident that the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business was adapted to the feudal system. What kind of economic policy a country or regime implements is ultimately determined by its economic base and the interests of the ruling class. The economic base of China feudal society was self-sufficient natural economy. For people, owning land can extract huge wealth, and land rental income is relatively stable, which is the best means to get rich. At the same time, for feudal countries, the development of agriculture can make people live and work in peace and contentment, the people are rich, and the treasury granary is full, so that they are not afraid of food shortage and turmoil inside, and they are not afraid of intrusion outside. Therefore, the rulers of all previous dynasties regarded the development of agriculture as the "foundation of the country" and suppressed commerce (sometimes including handicrafts) as the "last industry".

At the same time, in the view of feudal emperors, on the one hand, private businessmen exploited farmers through commodity exchange and usury, on the other hand, the rich returns of commercial activities attracted a considerable number of farmers, thus greatly weakening the ruling foundation of the dynasty.

In addition, the latest research believes that the emergence of the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining business" is not only due to its economic or material reasons, but also to cultural reasons, that is, the influence of the concept of "emphasizing righteousness over profit".

Second, the performance and evaluation of the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business

The ancient policy of attaching importance to agriculture and restraining commerce is mainly manifested in: 1. The rulers repeatedly emphasized that agriculture is an industry and commerce is the last industry. Second, on the land issue, adopt a policy of restraining mergers to prevent farmers from going bankrupt in large numbers and stabilize the agricultural production base; Third, strengthen household registration management and limit population flow; Fourth, restrict businessmen and business activities in many ways: restrict the political rights of businessmen, block the road of official career, and prohibit their descendants from being officials; Use the tax system to punish businessmen; Take official operation for important industries and prohibit businessmen from getting their hands on them; From the perspective of daily life, businessmen are restricted, and there are discriminatory regulations in dress, architecture, and riding.

Comment: The policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business played a positive role in the development of agriculture and social economy at that time and the consolidation of the new landlord class regime in the early feudal society. For example, Shang Yang's political reform, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and restraining business, and encouraging the development of agricultural production promoted the continuous strengthening of Qin's economic strength and laid a material foundation for Qin Shihuang's later unification of the six countries.

However, the policy of "attaching importance to agriculture and restraining business" also led to the continuous annexation of land by landlords and bureaucrats, which made the land highly concentrated, and the peasants went bankrupt and went into exile, which affected the development of agricultural production, intensified class contradictions and led to the continuous outbreak of peasant uprisings. Landlord bureaucratic groups are also more corrupt because of the crazy annexation of land. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the seeds of capitalism had appeared in China, but the ruling class still adhered to the policy of "emphasizing agriculture and restraining commerce" and implemented a series of measures that were not conducive to the development of capitalism. These practices violate the objective laws of economic development, leading to the backwardness of the country and losing its initial positive role.