Petty Trading in the Third World: The Case of Calcutta - Hardcover

This book attempts to present a coherent view of a low income urban activity as a developing totality of relations, while also introducing the wider sociopolitical setting. It analyzes the position of petty traders in Calcutta and the society and government which ignores and exploits them. The author reveals the link between capital, the role of the state and petty trading and shows how the changes in the urban and regional economy initiates changes within the petty trading sector affecting its position in the employment structure, its linkages and its sociodemographic composition. The sector itself is horizontally divided by ethnic and regional loyalties and layered by economic differentiation with each sub-group drawing on their own skills and community as they attempt to maximize return on their limited resources despite their dependent position and exploitative links with commercial capital. While the survival strategies of some allow stability and consolidation, the limited options available to others lead to reproduction under unacceptable conditions. The conclusion is that it is necessary for the state to drop its laissez-faire policy and accept that it has an important role to play in these constantly emerging relationships and help the most vulnerable groups in the sector.