Any reading list on the agrarian political economy needs to start with a broad historical overview. This book covers much of the historical record and presents its analysis in a light, conversational style. It not only traces the development of modern agriculture but very usefully examines how it differs from traditional, peasant-based economies. It also has a very good analysis of the impact of colonialism on the Global South.

After reading an overview of agricultural history, it’s bestto study the transition to the modern era more closely. This short book brilliantly examines the transition from traditional agriculture to the modern capitalist economy. Wood shows that there was nothing natural about the onset of capitalism — that it did not emerge from a spontaneous expansion of the market. On the contrary, the market was a product of capitalist class relations.

Once capitalism takes hold of agriculture, what kinds of politics does it generate? This book is a classic typology and analysis of the connection between different sorts of capitalist agriculture and agrarian revolution. Paige starts with the premise that capitalism, once it takes root, doesn’t create identical forms of exploitation. He then asks which types of exploitation have been more likely to create revolutionary movements. An indispensable guide to rural politics in the postwar Global South, it sets up our next two books.