Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism

Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism: Mozambique and Tanzania evaluates the promise and problems of socialism in the Third World by considering the political economies of Mozambique and Tanzania. The aim is to provide a basic account, for Marxists and non-Marxists alike, interested in alternative strategies of development in the Third World. It offers a materialist political economy approach that should be useful to an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners. The book is organized into four parts. Part I maps out purposes and procedures. Part II on Mozambique is a factually grounded analysis of an initial conjuncture in the transition to socialism—the capture of state power by workers and peasants. Part III on Tanzania focuses on another vital step on the way to socialism—the nationalization of leading financial institutions and the attempt to place them under the aegis of the immediate producers. Part IV knits together the main strands of the foregoing analysis and ties them to the broad themes discussed at the beginning of this book.

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Abbreviations

A Note on Currencies

One Introduction

1 Key Conjunctures in the Transition to Socialism

Focus of This Study

Modes of Inquiry

Underdevelopment and Socialism

Two The Capture of State Power in Mozambique

2 Imperialism and Revolution in Mozambique

Surrogate Colonialism

The Liberation Struggle

3 The Mechanisms of Imperialism

The Structure of the Economy

Foreign Investment and External Trade

Balance of Payments

The Southern African Nexus

A Neocolonial Solution?

4 The Metropolitan Political Economy

The Fascist State

The Penetration of Foreign Capital

Agricultural Production

International Assistance

A Resurgent Local Bourgeoisie

5 The Conquest of the State

Prelude to the Negotiations

The First Round of Peace Talks

The Secret Meeting in Dar es Salaam

The Lusaka Agreement and the Aftermath

The Four Phases

Appendix A: Socialism in Postcolonial Mozambique

A Socialist Strategy of Development

Achievements and Difficulties

The Global Context

Supplemental Reading

Appendix B: The Lusaka Agreement

Three The Nationalization of Banks in Tanzania

6 Banking and Underdevelopment

The Pivotal Role of Banks

Nationalizations in East Africa

7 Bank Policies in Colonial and Neocolonial Tanzania

Production Relations

The Monetary System

Banking Operations

8 The Acquisition of the Banks

Action by the State

The Reaction of the Banks

Compensation

The Agreements

9 Commercial Banking

Limited Autonomy of the Banking System

The Immediate Challenges

Toward Socialist Banking?

10 Rural Credit

From Past to Present

The Volume of Lending

Crop Finance

Distribution of Loans by Borrower

Distribution of Loans by Region

Ujamaa Villages

11 International Monetary Institutions and Self-Reliance

The Credit Club Forum

Balance of Payments Deficit

The Influx of International Agencies

The Expansion of World Bank Activities

The Debt Burden

Four Conclusion

12 The Promise and Problems of Socialism

The Capture of State Power

Ownership and Control of Financial Institutions

Transitional and Nontransitional Conjunctures

Obstacles and Prospects

Bibliography

General Works

Mozambique and Portugal

Tanzania

Subject Index