The Resurgence of Sharecropping: Historical Anomaly or Political Strategy?

Although traditional economic theories regard sharecropping as inefficient and likely to dwindle in systems of capitalist commodity production, sharecropping has exhibited remarkable persistence under a range of historical conditions. This article explores the reasons for the unexpected tenacity of share farming and considers its implications for the analysis of rural class structure and agrarian change. Using the example of the resurgence of sharecropping in the California strawberry industry, the paper demonstrates that political constraints on agricultural production are key determinants of the contemporary adoption of sharecropping, establishing a context in which sharecropping not only facilitates but is recreated by capitalist accumulation.