The Theory of Peasant Co-operatives

Description

By Alexander Chayanov
Introduction by Viktor Danilov
Ohio State University Press

The Theory of Peasant Co-operatives is Chayanov’s study of the transformation of the peasant economy and his prescription for the development of Russian agriculture. Predicting remarkably accurately the negative aspects of Stalin’s collectivization program, the book offers a realistic alternative. Chayanov argues the the success of the co-operative system is dependent on combined development linking diverse forms of farming organization.

Although written in the 1920s, the theoretical concepts and practical insights Chayanov offers are directly relevant to the restructuring of Soviet agriculture, as well as to debates about smallholders in the Third World and the so-called ‘informal economies’ of industrial societies.