Peasant Mode of Production and the Evolution of Clientelar Relations

In order to characterise the relatively autonomous peasant societies that predominated in the early Middle Ages after the collapse of the state, Chris Wickham has proposed the concept of ‘peasant mode of production’. This concept refines his earlier category of ‘peasant-based society’, which the author presented as ‘deliberately anodyne’, better than the notions of ‘tribal’, ‘primitive communal’ or ‘kin-based’ societies, less naïve and restricted than that of ‘Germanic society’ inspired in Tacitus, and close to that of ‘rank society’ by reason of its distinctness from societies with class antagonism, which it shares with the former types, and its clearer recognition of internal hierarchies. This perspective has furnished a paradigm for the analysis of the early Middle Ages societies as parts of a coherent whole, which justifies a reworking of the category of peasantbased society in terms of mode of production, a task undertaken byWickham in Framing the Early Middle Ages(a peasant-based society would be a social formation dominated by the peasant mode of production). However, the author’s theoretical approach has had less of an impact than his achievements in the field of comparative studies and empirical research.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Peasant Mode of Production and the Evolution of Clientelar Relations

In order to characterise the relatively autonomous peasant societies that predominated in the early Middle Ages after the collapse of the state, Chris Wickham has proposed the concept of ‘peasant mode of production’. This concept refines his earlier category of ‘peasant-based society’, which the author presented as ‘deliberately anodyne’, better than the notions of ‘tribal’, ‘primitive communal’ or ‘kin-based’ societies, less naïve and restricted than that of ‘Germanic society’ inspired in Tacitus, and close to that of ‘rank society’ by reason of its distinctness from societies with class antagonism, which it shares with the former types, and its clearer recognition of internal hierarchies. This perspective has furnished a paradigm for the analysis of the early Middle Ages societies as parts of a coherent whole, which justifies a reworking of the category of peasantbased society in terms of mode of production, a task undertaken byWickham in Framing the Early Middle Ages(a peasant-based society would be a social formation dominated by the peasant mode of production). However, the author’s theoretical approach has had less of an impact than his achievements in the field of comparative studies and empirical research.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Peasant Mode of Production and the Evolution of Clientelar Relations

In order to characterise the relatively autonomous peasant societies that predominated in the early Middle Ages after the collapse of the state, Chris Wickham has proposed the concept of ‘peasant mode of production’. This concept refines his earlier category of ‘peasant-based society’, which the author presented as ‘deliberately anodyne’, better than the notions of ‘tribal’, ‘primitive communal’ or ‘kin-based’ societies, less naïve and restricted than that of ‘Germanic society’ inspired in Tacitus, and close to that of ‘rank society’ by reason of its distinctness from societies with class antagonism, which it shares with the former types, and its clearer recognition of internal hierarchies. This perspective has furnished a paradigm for the analysis of the early Middle Ages societies as parts of a coherent whole, which justifies a reworking of the category of peasantbased society in terms of mode of production, a task undertaken byWickham in Framing the Early Middle Ages(a peasant-based society would be a social formation dominated by the peasant mode of production). However, the author’s theoretical approach has had less of an impact than his achievements in the field of comparative studies and empirical research.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Rural Cloth Industry and Social Differentiation. Evidence from Piedrahíta and Surrounding Places (Fifteenth Century)

: Partiendo de lo que han planteado los historiadores sobre el origen de la industria rural a domicilio y sobre el papel de sectores de la producción en su organización, se analiza la evidencia de pañería en el ámbito rural de Piedrahíta y en concejos de los alrededores durante el siglo XV. El estudio se concentra en la presencia de artesanos en las aldeas, en las condiciones que presenta el área en términos de mano de obra, infraestructura y disponibilidad de materias primas y en la circulación de textiles producidos en el campo. El objetivo es evaluar el desarrollo de industrias rurales y su relación con la élite de las aldeas.Taking into account different approaches to the origins of rural cloth industry and to the role played by producers in its organization, we will analyze the evidence of rural clothmaking in the jurisdiction of Piedrahíta and other councils during the fifteenth century. We will focus on the presence of craftsmen in the villages, on the conditions that the area shows in terms of labour, raw materials, infrastructure, and on the circulation of textiles produced in the countryside. The aim of this work is to assess the development of rural industries and its relation with villages élites

Reflexiones metodológicas sobre el estudio comparativo de Chris Wickham

El objetivo del artículo es analizar algunas cuestiones metodológicas relativas al método comparativo a través del estudio de Chris Wickham Framing the Early Middle Ages. Este fundamental trabajo -un estudio comparativo general empíricamente fundado- se analiza teniendo en cuenta su lógica interna, la forma de contrastar sociedades y los objetivos generales, y se compara con otros estudios comparativos provenientes de la sociología histórica, como los de Byres y Barrington Moore. Se considera también críticamente el uso de tipos ideales y la forma lógica de los razonamientos en la obra de Wickham, así como su contribución al método comparativo y a la comprensión general de un período histórico.The aim of this article is to analyze some methodological issues concerning the comparative method through the study of Chris Wickham's Framing the Early Middle Ages. This crucial work -a general, empirically-founded comparative study- is analyzed by considering its internal logic, its approach to contrasting societies and its general goals, as well as by comparing it with other comparative studies in the field of historical sociology -such as those of Byres and Barrington Moore. The use of ideal types and the logical form of statements in the work of Wickham are also critically considered, together with the latter's contribution to the comparative method and to the general understanding of a historical period

Introduction to Studies on Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production: Debates, Controversies and Lines of Argument

This book analyses a variety of historical problems related to pre-capitalist societies and explores both the concept and the range of modes of production arising from the writings of Marx and Engels and subsequent Marxist elaborations. There are differing assessments of the Marxist tradition on pre-capitalist modes of production, which reflects the debate within historical materialism with regard to the potential or the inconsistencies of some of the categories proposed by Marx. The critique of these categories, or the perception that they are insufficient, has led to the elaboration of new concepts such as the domestic mode of production proposed by Claude Meillassoux aimed at the analysis of agrarian lineage societies, Marshall Sahlins’s homonymous concept covering hunter-gatherer societies, or Chris Wickham’s recently proposed peasant mode of production geared to the analysis of agrarian societies without systematic surplus extraction.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación (FAHCE

Introduction to Studies on Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production: Debates, Controversies and Lines of Argument

This book analyses a variety of historical problems related to pre-capitalist societies and explores both the concept and the range of modes of production arising from the writings of Marx and Engels and subsequent Marxist elaborations. There are differing assessments of the Marxist tradition on pre-capitalist modes of production, which reflects the debate within historical materialism with regard to the potential or the inconsistencies of some of the categories proposed by Marx. The critique of these categories, or the perception that they are insufficient, has led to the elaboration of new concepts such as the domestic mode of production proposed by Claude Meillassoux aimed at the analysis of agrarian lineage societies, Marshall Sahlins’s homonymous concept covering hunter-gatherer societies, or Chris Wickham’s recently proposed peasant mode of production geared to the analysis of agrarian societies without systematic surplus extraction.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación (FAHCE

Judicial Review of the Legislative Process in Brazil

Judicial review of the legislative process has been a controversial topic in the case law of the Federal Supreme Court in Brazil. Issues regarding enacted statutes are not as controversial as those involving pending processes. On one hand, the Court has been scrutinising cases based on procedural legislative rules that are enshrined in the Constitution. On the other, the Court has been refusing to examine procedures based on provisions not enshrined in the Constitution, such as the internal ordinances of the parliament. In the former situation, the Court sees itself compelled to perform a kind of prior control of constitutionality. In the latter, it states that evaluating whether the process abides by the parliament’s own rules is an internal political (interna corporis) task, not a legal one. In this article, I argue that adherence to rules that govern the legislative process, regardless of their status, is not a matter of political discretionary choices, but a matter of compliance with the rule of law. Therefore, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court should abandon the prior control of constitutionality rationale, and it should review pending legislative processes including those based on the internal ordinances of the parliament