In Conversation with Sam

Abstract

This article raises four issues which were very dear to Sam. All are, in a sense, classical questions, very commonly debated among Marxists, but need to continue to be address anew, in concrete situations. The first is the category of ‘the peasant’, in its analytical and empirical dimensions; the second is the relationship between the peasant question and the national question; the third is the form and character of accumulation in the agrarian sector; and the fourth relates to social agency for transformation and forms of its organization. These issues are raised somewhat tentatively, in order to contribute to the ongoing debate.