Re: Re: Is Authoritarianism Necessary for Equality? (RE:: Keeping focus after the WTO

[Doug Henwood <dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx>]

Jim Devine wrote (responding to Yoshie):

>  >An interesting case is of course Kerala which, having fought through
>  >democratic grassroots mobilization for various forms of land reform, did not
>  >take the export-led NIC approach to GDP-led development, but instead focused
>  >on human needs development. But the point is that democracy is not a bar to
>  >implementing greater economic equality.
>
> At a minimum, the state instituting land reform has to be authoritarian
> against the land-owners. Otherwise, the compensation for the latter will be
> high.

Yeah, but why not peasants *taking* the land themselves, instead of
having an authoritarian government do the work? I'm reminded of why I
hate the word "empowerment," since it implies a bestowal from on high
rather than an act of self-assertion.

Doug