Brenner argues that that class relations determine all other factors including economic and demographic. He describes two kinds of class relations:
- the labour process- relation of direct producer to other
- the surplus extraction process.
He argues against the formulations of the Malthusians who argue that factors economic and demographic govern the polity of a time.
Malthusian cycle- increasing population leads to infertility of soil, rising rents and lowering wages. This inevitably leads to famine/starvation which then causes an opposite demographic trend in the decline of population. The declining population then resurrects production and wage labour etc.
Postan argues for the viewing of economic base dissociated from political and social factors. Brenner says that this formulation is not plausible as the class structure and moreover the extraction of extra economic surplus governs the economy of a time.
Acc to the Malthusian model an increase in population results in an increase in competition amongst the laboureres which results in an inevitable increase in extra economic coercion and the power of the land lord. ( Postan) A decline in population leads to relative peasant mobility and thus to decline in extra-economic coercion.
Brenner problematizes this formulation by finding exceptions to the trends. He says that the extraction of surplus is determined by the level of control a landlord excercises over the peasantry. The land lord may exercise control over a large population,ormay not exercise controleven over a small population. For example in Paris the tendency to establish a fixed rent and greater enfranchisement of the serf occurred in times of demographic burgeoning.
Similarly where a decline of population does see a rise in peasant enfranchisement in western Europe the same trend sees absolute imposition of serfdom in eastern Europe.(1500-1750)
Similar demographic changes bing about different outcomes indifferent regions
The trade based model argues that the increase in trading resulted in the increase in towns which provided an alternative fro the peasantry and thus increased their mobility and thus serfdom declined. Then a class of merchants rose from among the traders and they helped institute capitalism.
The Malthusians argue against this saying that in certain cases the increase in trade reaffirmed feudal control.
Brenner critiques them as being indolent in their critique. Critique of trade model- He argues that landlords , not spending large amounts on investment were dependant on feudal rent and thus would not let go of the peasants. The extra-economic coercion and the ineviatbel lack of funds with the peasantry leads to decline of produce(also because of the lack ofinnovation as surplus taken away) which leads to a crisis in productivity and inevietably to a production crisis.
ADD- Brenner: a. tiny centres not attractive enogh nor wil peasnts hav neogh capital.
- urban often alied wih nobility vs peasant
In western eruope this leads to revolt of the peasantry which inevitably leds to decline of feudalism.
In eastern Europe the revolts do not lead to decline
THIS IS BECAUSE THE REVOLTS IN WESTERN EUROPE ARE FAR LESSORGAINED AS COMPARDE TO THOSE IN EASTERN EUROPE. In western Europe the peasantry organize themselves into units ,w ehreas in eastern the signeural control continues.
Brenner provides a comparative case study of England and france to understand the emergence of capitalism.
Class struggleled to freedom of the peasantry
In England the state provided support to the landlord,who acquired the large vacant properties left empty by demographic decline. These large properties were then leased out to tenants who eployed wage labour. There was no extra-econnomic(feudal rent) . Thus the peasants could use surplus for investment and they did so as unlike the feudal economy the peasantry had motivation to invest- self betterment. This investment resulted in industrialization in agriculture as well as all round industrial progree- thus we see a shift in population from agriculture to industry– this leads into the industrial era.
In france the state imposes restrictions on the landlords and allows freedom of peasantry to enable extraction of taxes. The state in france after the peasant enfranchisement is absolute. The peasantry live in small individual holdings. The high taxes accompanied by rising population and division of land curtail investment in industry. The demographic pressue leads to a Malthusian display- the landlords taking advantage of the demographic pressure acquire demenses and lease them out at high rates/ the state starts simultaneously to confiscate land- thus in france absolute freedom led to poverty.