Book information:
Clifford Geertz: Agricultural involution
(1963)
(= HyperGeertz-63Beng1)
Views:
Short description:
"This book is a study of agrarian change in Indonesia over several hundred years. It argues that the understanding of such change depends on an integration of ecological and sociological points of view. The main thesis is that wet rice culture in Indonesia has developed through a process of over-elaboration of labour intensive methods of cultivation leading to 'static expansion'" (from Current Contents, This week's citation classic, no. 12 (March 25) 1991)
Table of contents:
Starting points, theoretical and factual
(1) "The ecogical approach in anthropology", pp. 1-11;
(2) "Two types of ecosystems: (a) Inner vs. outer Indonesia, (b) Swidden, (c) Sawah", pp. 12-36;
The crystallization of the pattern
(3) "The classical period", pp. 38-46;
(4) "The colonial period: foundations", pp. 47-82;
(5) "The colonial period: florescence", pp. 83-123;
The outcome
(6) "Comparisons and prospects", pp. 124-156;
(7) Bibliography, Index, pp. 157-176.
Reviews:
Harold C. Conklin,
American Anthropologist, Jun 1968,
Vol. 70, No. 3, pp. 599-600
(online available via JSTOR).
Theodorson, George A.. American Journal of Sociology, Sep1965, Vol. 71 Issue 2, p202-203, 2p
Freedman, Maurice. Population Studies, Mar65, Vol. 18 Issue 3, p331-332, 2p
online
review:
"Agricultural Involution is one
of the earlier works of a very influential writer: a concise overview of
Indonesian agricultural systems. It describes the two main kinds of
agriculture in Indonesia, swidden and sawah (irrigated rice paddy fields),
and their geographical localisation (sawah being concentrated in Java and
Bali along with 70% of Indonesia's population). It then looks at the
historical development of Indonesian agriculture, and in particular the
process of "agricultural involution", where the Javanese economy,
faced with external pressure from the economic demands of the Dutch colonial
regime and internal pressure from rapidly increasing population, intensified
existing forms of agriculture rather than changing. This involved putting
even more labour into paddy field cultivation, increasing per hectare output
while maintaining per capita output. Geertz's thesis is that this process
was tied up with the development of sugar as a smallholder cash crop
complementary with rice production.
Critics have attacked Geertz's ideas in a number of places, and some of his conclusions are now considered doubtful. But this work is still necessary reading for anyone interested in Indonesian agriculture, as well as being a good introduction to the economic history of Indonesia. If nothing else, it will be remembered for the coining of the term "agricultural involution"." (by Danny Yee, 7 January 1993)
