Let's Modernise with the Shah

The Shah had a strange notion of the path to "modernisation". In the early years of this rule he forced land reforms in the countryside which aimed at replacing feudal relations with capitalist relations. The peasants waged armed struggles against these "reforms". In the course of these reforms the Shah's family grabbed for itself 25% of the total land. This alone generated for them an annual tax-free income of $ (US) 1 billion.

The Shah claimed in 1974 that his policies would make Iran "one of the world's leading nations within a generation". These policies which developed an extensive industrial sector at the expense of agriculture turned Iran from being self-sufficient in food to an importer of 60% of it's essential needs in food. One example of the decline of agriculture is the water problem. Robert Graham, in his book, Iran, the Illusion of Power, says that at present "roughly 4.5 million hectares of land are capable of being irrigated but only 70% has the neccessary infrastructure and less than 30% is being properly watered". And because the distortion of the economy has driven farmers from the land into the cities looking for work, lack of maintenance has destroyed many of the traditional underground channels which exploit ground water - the ganat system. Illiteracy remains widespread in the countryside.

Khomeini has described the Shah's industrialisation programme as a montage - assembly of foreign components rather than genuine development of national industries. Most industry belongs to the Shah, the royal family and its henchmen or to foreign investors. "We can see through these that the country has been turned into a colony of foreign interests".

Ambitious industrialisation has pushed out the smaller local capitalists and spiralled inflation to levels of 50%. And still there are only 2,000 miles of roads in the whole country while 70% of the population has no electricity or running water. Industrialisation has also created a large and militant working class of 3 million. Workers have formed the backbone of the movement to topple the Shah. Since late last year a virtual general strike has paralysed Iran's economy while co-operative distribution teams have meant that the ordinary people have not had to suffer.