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If one wanted to find a major source on the issue and complexity of agrarian reform in the Philippines and which to some extent could be extrapolated to other developing countries, then A Captive Land would be a first choice. While this reviewer is not an expert in agrarian reform or particularly interested in the machinations per se except insofar as they constitute another major factor in the empirical and ideological-based development of Third World countries, I certainly came to understand many of the influences and factors involved in agrarian reform; but more than this, A Captive Land also revealed the wider complexity of the Philippine state and civil society. Although one can disagree with Putzel in terms of ideological orientation one must readily acknowledge that he has done a superb job in unravelling the history, the economics and the cultural aspects of agrarian reform, as well as both the national and international politics that impinge upon it in the Philippines. The book is exceedingly well researched and very accessible to the uninitiated. At the end of each chapter there is a summary/conclusion and extensive notes ad references, while the book as a whole, of some 380 pages has extensive detailed tables, a large glossary, and an extensive bibliograpy and index.
Putzel takes us through the issue of agrarian reform in 11 chapters which are clearly subdivided into logical sections; the main titles are worth noting: Chapter 1, Landlessness, Agrarian Reform and the State, which follows on from a brief Introduction, deals with why agrarian reform is not only needed but also why is an issue at all, as well as the State's relation to agrarian reform. In this Chapter Putzel also raises the two main approaches to agrarian reform--the conservative and the liberal-as well as a host of other factors that need to be taken into account. Essentially, Putzel argues that the clash between advocates of the conservative and liberal approaches to reform has characterised debates about reform among Philippine officials as well as US policy-makers since the 1950s. The fact that such a clash has recurred over time indicates that reforms policy cannot be understood simply as determined by an existing "mode of production", the class character of a regime, or the place...