Book Description

A collection of 62 essays on agrarian reform in Asia is presented. Based on field observations, Ladejinsky's works reflect his concern with the redistribution of land to submarginal farmers, tenants, sharecroppers, and landless laborers. The papers express Ladejinski's belief that the role of Asia in establishing the dominance of democracy over Communism is crucial and that the welfare of the Asian people will play a definitive role in the outcome; that agricultural progress is basic to economic development and welfare; that the redistribution of land to the mass of cultivators or the secure land tenure, with adequate water supplies and technical assistance at reasonable rents for tenants, is the best way to provide incentives for agricultural development; that basic agrarian reform is inevitable and revolutionary in character; that political leadership is necessary for the achievement of agrarian reform and the maintenance of stability; and that assistance from Western nations is vital. Two official documents leading to land reform in post-World War II Japan, a chronological bibliography of Ladejinsky, and a list of depository libraries for the Ladejinsky papers are appended.