Philanthropy and capital. The contradictions in the agrarian development at Jewish settlements (Argentina, 1900-1920)

Abstract

This article looks toward the role played by Jewish Colonization Association (JCA) over the formation of Argentinean agrarian and social structure through the analysis of the economic conditions in colonizing experiences. JCA tried to establish a self-sufficient peasantry among a fully capitalist environment. This community pattern outshined the Jewish settlements and was reproduced by the agrarian co-operative associations proliferated since 1910. In this study we analyse the incentives and restrictions to the accumulation inside the JCA project, as well as the mechanisms utilized by the richest settlers to overcome those restrictions, especially through the co-operative associations. Finally, we also study the conflicts that emerged from this process.