The Emergence of Classes in Algeria: A Study of Colonialism and Socio-Political Change

269 Pages·1976·18.149 MB·English

by  Marnia Lazreg

The Emergence of Classes in Algeria
Westview Special Studies
Social, Political, and Economic Development
III
Gordon Donald, Credit for Small Farmers in Developing Countries
John S. Gilmore and Mary K. Duff, Boom Town Growth Management:
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Marnia Lazreg, The Emergence of Classes in Algeria: Colonialism and Socio-Political Change
Donald R. Mickelwait, Mary Ann Riegelman and Charles F. Sweet, Women in Rural
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This book seeks to determine the impact of colonialism on the evo-
lution of social classes in Algeria from 1830 to the present, and to
analyze the relationship between classes and political and economic
development. Colonialism is viewed as a mode of production which
resulted in the distortion of the indigenous socio-economic configu-
rations and led to a particular form of political alliance culminating
in the creation of the F.L.N. The evolution of the latter, the achieve-
ment of independence, and the establishment of a new power struc-
ture are examined in the light of class antagonisms. The Algerian
form of socialism is interpreted as the outcome of the struggle be-
tween the petite bourgeoisie and the technocracy. The role of the
Party, of the bureaucracy, and of ideology in a selected number of
political measures indicated the existence of a specific pattern of
social development which may not be grasped by the conventional
tools of analysis. The major conclusion of the book is that societies
such as Algeria present the observer with a reality for which a new
mode of theorizing is needed.
Marnia Lazreg was born in Mostaganem, Algeria. She holds a
licence-es-Iettres from the University of Algiers and a Ph.D. in Soci-
ology from New York University. She has taught at Brooklyn and
Hunter Colleges and is now an Assistant Professor of Sociology at
the Graduate Faculty Center, New School for Social Research in
New York.
The En1ergence of Classes
in Algeria
A Study of Colonialism
and Socio-Political Change
Marnia Lazreg
First published 1976 by Westview Press
Published 2018 by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1976 by Marnia Lazreg.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lazreg, Marnia
The Emergence of Classes in Algeria
Bibliography: p.
1. Social classes-Algeria. 2. Algeria-Politics and govern-
ment. 3. Socialism in Algeria. I. Title.
HN810.A6L37 301.44'0965 76-7955
ISBN 13: 978-0-367-02081-1 (hbk)
To the memory of my father.
To my mother.

Contents
Tables and Figures 'Om
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction xi
1. Theoretical and Methodological Context 1
Some Assumptions Examined 1 - Marxist and Neo-Marxist Conceptions
of Class 5 - Operationalization of Class 9 - The Dominant Class 12
2. The Algerian Social Structure Under Turkish Domination 21
Historical Background 21 - The Algerian Property Structure 25 -
Algerian Type of Pre~apitalist Formation 30
3. The Algerian Social Structure Under French Domination 37
Historical Background 37 - Destruction of the Algerian Property System
41 - Structural Consequences of Property Laws 45 - Conclusion 53
4. The Dynamics of Incipient Classes 57
Development of Incipient Classes 58 - The War of National Liberation
67 - Independence 77 - Conclusion 83
5. Articulation and Class Interests 87
The Establishment of Self-Management and its Evolution 88 - The Code
of Investments 112 - Conclusion 116
6. Class Relations and Ideology 119
The Concept of Ideology 119 - Ideology in Algeria 121 - Conclusion 135
7. Class and Party 13 7
The Concept and Role of the Single Party 137 - The F.L.N. Before Inde-
pendence 139 - The F.L.N. After Independence 142 - Conclusion 152
8. Class and Bureaucracy 157
Theoretical Background 157 - Nature of the Algerian Bureaucratic
Structure 163 - Communal and Wilaya Reforms 165 - Bureaucracy
and Political Power 173 - Conclusion 174
9. Summary and Conclusions 177
Postscript 197
Notes 203
Bibliography 239
Glossary 249
VII
Tables and Figures
Tables
1. Comparative Structure of Landed Property.
(Cheliff Valley) 50
2. Changes in Property Relations 62
3.1 Social Composition of the G.P.R.A. 76
3.2 Education Background of the G.P.R.A. Members 76
4. Composition of National Constituent Assembly,
1962 78
5. Educational Background of Ben Bella's Three
Cabinets 78
6. Political Trends in Ben Bella's Three Cabinets 81
7. Land Under Self-Management 103
8. Employment in Self-managed Estates 103
9. Number of Enterprises in 1968 114
10. Employment in the Various Economic Sectors 114
11. Evolution of Tax Revenues 116
12. Composition of the Bureaucracy in 1963 163
Figures
1. Pre-Capitalist Algerian Social Structure 32
2. Pre- and Post-Independence Social Structure 85
Vlll
Acknowledgments
This book is the result of a long-standing commitment to un-
derstanding socio-political changes of which I was both a
member and an outsider. In the nine years that I have been
away from Algeria, I have received invaluable help from Al-
gerian friends working within and outside the government
structure. On my yearly trips, they spent hours discussing is-
sues and events with me; without them it would have been
impossible to grasp the meanings of a complex and fast-
changing social reality. Their help does not mean, however,
that anyone other than myself is responsible for the inter-
pretations offered in this study.
I am indebted to Professors Wolf V. Heydebrand, Carolyn
Etheridge and David Greenberg for their extensive comments
and suggestions on an earlier draft. Barney Rosset read the
manuscript and generously helped with his advice at the edit-
ing and publishing stages of this book. Last but not least, I am
grateful to Mark Woodcock for reading and editing the manu-
script. Most of all I thank him for his encouragement and
moral support.
IX