The Failure of Agrarian Capitalism: Agrarian Politics in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, 1846-1919

In 1992, a trade war nearly developed between the French and the Americans over the French government's rape seed subsidy. The US responded with threats of slapping heafty duties on French vin blanc. Each year promises yet another round of arguments, threats, and economic repisals.

In The Failure of Agrarian Capitalism, Dutch economist Niek Koning examines the economic origins of such forms of intervention. He scrutinizes attempts to reform farming policy in the latest round of GATT talks; and provides an incisive and comparative analysis of the agrarian politics in England, Germany, the Netherlands and the US from 1846-1919. He places an astute emphasis on legislation and argues that this period was crucial in robbing the agricultural sector of a market-oriented autonomy, eventually spawning the seeds of this conflict.