Primitive accumulation as a structural element of historical capitalism and urgent expropriation as a means in Turkey

Studies upon capitalism show that in order for the transition from feudalism to capitalism to be possible, forces of production have to be detached from their means of production and support. Thereby the dispossessed mass who have been detached from means of living will be thrown into labor market and while this mass, surrounded by the imperativeness of the market, become the forces of production of the new period, the things obtained in the process of dispossession will become capital. This process, named as transitional period, is labeled as primitive accumulation by Marx; however, this characterization generated a never-ending discussion amongst the successors of Marx. Widely accepted opinion upon the transition period is that the proliferation of the use of money and growth of commerce enables the transition to capitalism by disengaging feudalism. However, studies indicate that feudalism has been disengaged in areas where commerce and money growth is relatively little rather than the areas where cash use is extensive. There have been times and places when the growth of commerce and proliferation of cash had a direct impact on disengaging feudalism; yet, overgeneralizing these incidents does not overlap with the truth. Because, inspite of the fact that the growth of commerce and proliferation of cash sometimes ends up disengaging feudalism, the result of commerce sometimes was the resurge of serfage in the feudal era and the serfage economy in the antique era. Now that the growth of merchant capital alone would not enable the transition from one kind of production to another, what is the impulse which enabled the transition from feudalism to capitalism? The most substantial answer for this is the historical process which has resulted in modification of the means of both labour and production; namely the conception of Marx's primitive accumulation. According to Marx, primitive accumulation which is nothing but the separation of producer from their means of production, transforms means of social subsistence into capital while transforming direct producers into paid labour on the other hand. The fact that Marx characterizes primitive accumulation as "historical process" leads his successors to perceive this period as "a period which has ended before capitalism". However, Marx has clearly set his point of view forth by describing capital not as an entity but a social relation established amongst the people with the help of the entity and pointing out that the capitalist production both continues and increasingly reproduces the process which separates the producers from their means of production. Hence, perceiving the primitive accumulation as a historical process qualifies as desire rather than detection. The most significant conclusion to be drawn from this assertion is that primitive accumulation is not restricted with a pre-capitalism stage and it continues its existence as structural component of capitalism except for two differences. Firstly, the primitive accumulation means that are used in neo-liberal period through which we have been going occasionally differs from pre-capitalism period. Secondly, primitive accumulation serves more as a lever in times of capitalism crisis rather than a principal factor in every period of capitalism as well as subordinating from time to time depending on the course the class struggle. In neo-liberalism Turkey (1980-2017) where primitive accumulation has become the principal factor of capital accumulation process, the means it has used varies in both classical (taxing, foreign loans etc.) and contemporary (privatization, urgent expropriation etc.) ways. While taxing and foreign loans become means spreading over the whole period; privatization and urgent expropriation qualify as successive and serving in relatively short periods. However, the common element in all of them is the fact that by non-economic methods (by the force of the state) dispossession and commodification processes has intertwined. The most typical examples of this period in Turkey can be seen in urgent expropriation of electric power production. Approximately 90% of total urgent expropriation in AKP period of Turkey (2002-2016) have taken place in the last 5 years (2012-2016) and 70% of total urgent expropriation focuses on energy sector with the principal factor being the construction of hydroelectric power plants. In accordance with the legal necessities and court decisions, in execution of urgent expropriation which is to be in questionsolely for the public welfare and in extraordinary periods, rules of law and court decisions are violated. In addition to this, people living around hydroelectric power plants are separated from their lands and means of production by dispossession while the state is looking for the profits of private corporates instead of securing its own citizens. Consequently, not only people are being separated from their lands but the ecological balance is irreversibly damaged as well.