The Economic System of Islam — Page 92
92 while transforming the farmers into mere wage earners. Commu- nism thereby placed landowners at a disadvantage compared to merchants and industrialists who, to a certain extent, were given property rights over what they possessed. Because the State was the sole owner of land, Communism held that the State was entitled to direct the farmer what to sow and where to sow it. Moreover, as some farmers had more experience in handling certain crops, the State was entitled to send them wherever their expertise was needed. When these ideas were implemented country-wide, farmers came to realise that: 1. Their status had been reduced to that of mere labourers, lower than that of merchants or artisans; 2. Their family life had been deprived of all stability and the right of their descendents to enjoy the fruits of their labour had been usurped; 3. They were liable to be moved from their farms and sent off to unknown places at any time; 4. They were no longer able to choose their crops in order to stay self-sufficient. Instead, they were made to cultivate in accordance with the State’s dictates. This destroyed the previous system under which villages and towns were self- sufficient. Because of these developments, the landowners rebelled and maintained their resistance for a number of years, resulting in a fall in agricultural output. Finally, Stalin abrogated that system and re-established the old system that provided for the right of