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A Note on Former Soviet Bloc Countries
Author(s) -
Kitching Gavin
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of agrarian change
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1471-0366
pISSN - 1471-0358
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0366.2004.00076.x
Subject(s) - analogy , argument (complex analysis) , latin americans , land reform , political science , state (computer science) , plot (graphics) , economics , agriculture , development economics , political economy , law and economics , economy , law , history , philosophy , archaeology , biochemistry , linguistics , chemistry , statistics , mathematics , algorithm , computer science
It is argued that while it is difficult to be critical of GKI, because the picture painted of the former Soviet bloc countries is so broad, the treatment is not sufficiently detailed to be analytically illuminating. Four important weaknesses are identified. The first is the problematic analogy of private plot agriculture on the former state and collective farms with minifundia in Latin America, and the consequent analogy of collective farms with latifundia. The second is the argument that private plot farming was involuting in a Geertzian sense. Thirdly, the GKI redistributive land reform agenda for Russia is questioned and a case is made for privately owned and managed large farms. Finally, GKI are criticized for failing to take account of the limited rural labour supply in Russia.