Rural differentiation and class‐formation in Tanzania

Abstract

The article looks at various specific processes of differentiation in rural Tanzania and attempts to relate these to the overall emergence of classes within the Tanzanian social formation and to its incorporation within the international capitalist system. After a brief introduction and outline of some important aspects of the Tanzanian economy and political structure, and a still briefer discussion of ‘Chayanovian’ proposals about an undifferentiated peasantry, the article outlines the developments of the colonial period and their implications for the patterns of differentiation observed. This is followed by a consideration of some of the more important specific processes. The final section attempts to pull this together into a coherent, though admittedly undertheorised, picture, focusing upon the ambiguous relationship of what is termed the ‘state class’ and the rich peasantry.