T. Cliff

The Problem of the Middle East


(Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq)

(1946)


Unpublished manuscript (except Chapter 8) – first published in the MarxistsInternet Archive, June 2011.
Chapter 8 originally published in Tony Cliff, International Struggle and the Marxist Tradition, Selected Works Vol.1, Bookmarks, London 2001, pp. 27-41.
Translated from the Hebrew manuscript by R. Hod.
Four pages of the manuscript (pp.61 & 67–69) are missing.
Transcribed by George Paizis.
Edited by George Paizis & Anne Alexander.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
Editor’s note: I have attempted to rationalise the transliteration of Arabic names compared to the original text, in order to help readers find online references to people and places mentioned, by substituting better known English transliterations of important figures’ names and removing diacritical marks. Although not entirely consistently applied throughout the text, I have generally favoured the spelling of personal names found in the Wikipedia entry for the person concerned. – Anne Alexander


 

    Introduction by Anne Alexander

 

 

<p. ii>

        Preface
 

    i

 



Part I: HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
 

Chapter One:

Feudalism in the Arab East

    1

The Rise of Feudalism and the Arab Golden Age
The Contradictions in the Flowering of the Arab Golden Age
Why the Decline of Feudalism was not accompanied by the Rise of Capitalism
 

Chapter Two:

Napoleon’s Conquest of Egypt (1798) and Mohamed Ali (1805-1849)

  10

Napoleon’s Conquest of Egypt
Egypt at the Crossroads
Mohamed Ali Smashes the Mamelukes and Introduces Great Changes in Land Property Relations
Mohamed Ali Develops Irrigation and Changes the Organisation of Agricultural Production and Distribution
Development of Industry, Shipbuilding and Transport
Mohamed Ali’s Failure
 

Chapter Three:

The Conquest of Egypt by the European Usurers
 

  18

Chapter Four:

From the Urabi Revolt (1881-2) to the First World War

  24

The Urabi Revolt and the British Occupation
Public Finances
The Flow of Foreign Capital Continues
The Capitulations
The Development of Agriculture
Autocratic Imperialist Rule and the Beginnings of the National Movement
 

Chapter Five:

Beginnings of the National Movement in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Iraq

  31

Mohamed Ali’s Occupation of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine
The First Shoots of Nationalism
The National Movement Arises, Rejuvenated and More Encompassing
 



Part II: IMPERIALISM IN THE ARAB EAST
 

Chapter Six:

The Imperialist Powers’ Stake in the Arab East

  38

The Arab East as a Route
The Arab East as an Economic Stake:
a) Petroleum
b) Dead Sea Minerals
c) Cotton

The Arab East as a Market and Field for Capital Investment
The Importance of Colonies to the ‘Mother Countries’
 

Chapter Seven:

Imperialism’s Methods of Rule

  50

The Police and the Army of Occupation
Divide et Impera
The Division of the Arab Countries into Many Small States
The Arab League
 



Part III: THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE ARAB EAST
 

Chapter Eight:

Industry and Banking in Egypt

  60

Foreign Capital
Finance Capital
The Merging of Finance Capital with the State
The Increased Industrialization of Egypt
The Concentration of Capital in Industry
Rationalization, Productivity of Labour and the Rate of Exploitation in Industry
The Rate of Profit in Industry
The Conditions of Life of Urban Workers
The Narrowness of Local Markets Hampers Industrialization of Egypt
Egyptian Industry During the War
How Foreign and Egyptian Capital Prepare for the Period after the War and the ‘Reconstruction’
 

<p. iii>

Chapter Nine:

The Agrarian Question in Egypt

  75

Land Property Relations
What is the Feudal Mode of Production?
Egyptian Agriculture as an Economy of Transition:
a) Agriculture and the Deveopment of Commerce
b) The ‘Freeing’ of the Toilers from the Land
c) ‘Non-Economic’ Compulsion
d) The technique of Agriculture

Peasants, Tenants and Workers
The Class Structure of the Agricultural Population
The Standard of Life of the Agricultural Toilers
 

Chapter Ten:

The Economic Structure of Palestine

  86

General Features of Palestine’s Economy
Foreign Capital
The Features of the Jewish and Arab Economies
The Connections Between the Arab and Jewish Economies
Is the Jewish Economy a Normal One?
The Standard of Living of Jewish and Arab Workers
Summary and Conclusions
 

Chapter Eleven:

The Agrarian Question in Palestine

  98

Feudalism and Capitalism in Agriculture
The Musha’a
The Backwardness of the Fellah’s Farm
Rent, Interest on Loans and Taxes
The Fellah’s Standard of Living
The Arab Village Proletariat
Zionist Colonization:
a) Farms on Jewish National Fund Land
b) Jewish Citrus Culture

The Influence of Zionism Colonization on the Arab Village
Zionism and the Agrarian Question
 

Chapter Twelve:

The Economic Structure of Syria

110

Industry
Agriculture
 

Chapter Thirteen:

The Economy of Iraq
 

116



Part IV: THE NATIONAL MOVEMENT IN THE ARAB EAST
 

Chapter Fourteen:

The Arab National Movement (Mainly Analytical)

121

Introduction
The Feudal Lords and the National Movement
The Bourgeoisie and the National Movement
The Petty Bourgeoisie and the National Movement
The Proletariat and the National Movement
The Social Content of the National Movement
 

Chapter Fifteen:

The National Movement in Egypt

130

The Social Forces in the National Movement
The Wafd and Imperialism
The Wafd’s Relation to National Movements Outside Egypt
The Wafd and the Question of the Sudan
The Wafd and the Monarchy
The Wafd and Democratic Liberties
The Wafd and Religion
The Wafd and the Peasants and Workers
The Moslem Brotherhood
 

Chapter Sixteen:

The Arab National Movement in Palestine

143

Imperialism, Zionism and the Arab National Movement
For the Arab Feudal Lords and Bourgeoisie Zionism is the Sole Source of Discord with Imperialism
Of What Does the Feudal, Semi-Bourgeois Leadership Accuse Zionism?
The Identification of Zionism and the Jews – The Main Weapon in the Hands of the Arab Feudal Reaction
The Feudal Semi-Bourgeois Leaders and the World Forces of Reaction
 

 

Chapter Seventeen:

The National Movement in Syria and Lebanon

151

The Communal Question in Syria and Lebanon
The National Movement and the Communal Question
The Bourgeois-Feudal Leaders Compromise with Imperialism, are Firm with the Masses
 

 

Chapter Eighteen:

The National Movement in Iraq
 

158

 

<p. iv>



Part V: ZIONISM
 

Chapter Nineteen:

Zionism

162

The Social Roots of Zionism
Zionism Seeks for Allies among the Reaction
What do the Zionist Say on Their Relation to the Arabs and British Imperialism?
The Place of Zionism in the Defence System of Imperialism
Can Zionism be Anti-Imperialist?
The Attitude of the Zionist Socialist to the Arab Worker
The Protagonists of Bi-Nationalism among the Zionists
Zionism and the Jewish Workers of Palestine
 



Part VI: THE WORKING CLASS MOVEMENT IN THE ARAB EAST
 

Chapter Twenty:

Introduction to the Working Class Movement in the Arab East
 

175

Chapter Twenty One:

The Trade Unions in the Arab East

178

Egypt
Palestine
a) The trade unions which contain only Arab workers
b) The General Federation of Jewish Labour in Palestine (Histadrut)

Syria and Lebanon
Iraq
 

Chapter Twenty Two:

The Stalinist Groups in the Arab East

187

The Stalinists and the War
The Stalinists and National Unity
The Stalinists and the Agrarian Question
The Stalinists and the Class Interests of the Workers
Patriotism in Bi-National Counties
 

Chapter Twenty Three:

The Rise of an Independent Proletarian Power in Egypt
 

195

Chapter Twenty Four:

Tasks of the Revolutionary Workers’ Movement of the Arab East

197

The Agrarian Revolution
The Unity of the Arab Countries
The National Liberatory Struggle and the International Unity of the Proletariat
Defence of the Rights of National and Communal Minorities
Soviets and The Constituent Assembly
 

Table of Weights and Measures
 

209

Bibliography

210


Last updated on 26.6.2011