The landlord class, peasant differentiation, class struggle and the transition to capitalism: England, France and Prussia compared

The three examples considered – England, France and Prussia – are all very important instances of capitalist agrarian transformation. They illustrate, moreover, strikingly different paths of agrarian transition. These are termed, respectively, landlord-mediated capitalism from below, capitalism delayed, and capitalism from above, and an explanation is offered of how these different outcomes came to pass and of why there was such a marked divergence in the nature of agrarian transition. It is argued that the character of the landlord class and of class struggle have determined both the timing of each transition and the nature of the transition. Both the quality of the landlord class and the manner and outcome of the class struggle have sometimes delayed, perhaps for prolonged periods, and sometimes hastened transition; and have had profound implications for the nature and quality of the transformation and how reactionary or progressive it has been. In this the state has always played a prominent part. It is further argued that differentiation of the peasantry is central to transformation: it is not an outcome but a determining variable, a causa causans rather than a causa causata. Differentiation of the peasantry feeds into and interacts with the landlord class and class struggle, these three being critical to the eventual outcome. The distinctly varying trajectories in the three crucial instances are explained in these terms.