The Theory of Peasant Economy

by Alexander V. Chayanov

The work of A.V. Chayanov is today drawing more attention among Western scholars than ever before. Largely ignored in his native Russia because they differed from Marxist-Leninist theory, and neglected in the West for more than forty years, Chayanov’s sophisticated theories were at last published in English in 1966. That trenchant is reprinted in this Wisconsin paperback edition, which includes a new introduction by the sociologist Teodor Shanin, of the University of Manchester, one of the world’s leading Chayanov scholars. The Wisconsin edition will be essential reading for political scientists, anthropologists, and all whose interests include peasant studies, Third World development, and women’s studies.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Agriculture

416 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1986

About the author

Alexander V. Chayanov (Russian: Александр Васильевич Чаянов) (1888-October 3, 1937) was a Soviet agrarian economist and scholar of rural sociology.

He was a proponent of agricultural cooperation, but was skeptical with respect to the indiscriminate introduction of large-scale farms. Chayanov's skepticism was rooted in the idea that households, especially peasant households which practice subsistence farming, will tend to produce only the amount of food that they need to survive. He believed that the Soviet government would find it difficult to force these households to cooperate and produce a surplus. These views were sharply criticized by Stalin as "defence of the kulaks". However, Chayanov was ultimately shown to be right about the problems with Soviet agricultural planning.

In 1930 Chayanov was arrested in the "Case of the Labour Peasant Party" (Трудовая крестьянская партия), fabricated by the NKVD. The name of the party was taken from a science fiction book written by Chayanov in the 1920s. The process was intended to be a show trial, but it fell apart, due to the strong will of the defendants. Nevertheless on a secret trial in 1932 Chayanov was sentenced to 5 years in Kazakhstan labor camps. On October 3, 1937 Chayanov was arrested again, tried and shot the same day.

His wife was repressed as well and spent 18 years in labor camps. Chayanov was rehabilitated in 1987.

Chayanov's major works, Peasant Farm Organization (originally published in Russian in 1925) and On the Theory of Non-Capitalist Economic Systems were first translated into English in 1966. Chayanov's theory of the peasant household influenced economic anthropology. The substantivist Marshall Sahlins drew on Chayanov in his theory of the domestic mode of production, but later authors have argued that Chayanov's use of neo-classical economics supports a formalist position.

His book Puteshestvie moego brata Alekseia v stranu krest’ianskoi utopii [My brother Alexei's journey into the land of peasant utopia] (Moskva: Gosizdat, 1920) predicted a rapid transfer of power into peasant hands; its hero wakes up in 1984, "in a country where the village has conquered the city, where handicraft cooperatives have replaced industry." Like Evgeny Zamyatin's We, it contains theosophical elements.

Reviews

[Tales Untilde · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're interested in peasant studies, this is exactly where you should start. Chayanov's theory is far from perfect, but it's essential. Once you read it, I also highly recommend Eric Wolf's "Peasants".

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at peasant livelihoods in rural Russia before the period of collectivization. Chayanov disagreed with Marx and Lenin which did not make for a long writing career.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for grad school - dense reading & a bit convoluted (especially if you are unfamiliar with Russian history/economy), but definitely an interesting and provocative seminal piece in peasant studies. Worth mentioning that Chayanov was later executed by the state for the “radical” beliefs (didn’t completely align with the revolution’s theories, etc) that he put forth in this book & his other works.

[PAUL RAMADHAN]

am reading on peasant theory