Analyse comparée des politiques agraires dans les pays socialistes

Abstract

A comparative analysis of farm policies in socialist countries - In spite of the obstacles for a comparative analysis, an attempt seems to be worthwhile. For a cross-system analysis - between capitalist and socialist societies - of farm policies there are no indicators and methods. For a full comparison in the socialist system, more national and particularly regional data would be called for. For a better understanding of the problems, agrarian history after the socialist revolution is periodised in four development phases : Desinvestment, production battle, new economic system, surplus production. After the radical transformation of the agrarian structures, farm policies hardly deal with new changes of the newly established macro-structure, which has to be fully utilized by great quantities of new production inputs. After the abolition of the machine and tractor stations, the main pillars of agrarian structure are modified only in their international organization (I). An exception to this are the new superstructures combining several collective or state farms. Production is increased by an accelerated flow of fertilisers, farm machinery, investments in land improvement etc... The rigid direction of marketing is loosened and later abolished in favour of more flexibility and a variety of marketing channels for the producers. Farm prices are increased and levelled, the split market system ended. The social status, the economic situation and the social security of the kolkhoz members are improved, opening the gate for growing identification with their collective enterprise. Only the centralised administration, top-heavy and badly adapted to decisions about regional and local matters, is hardly changed. The social costs, the disadvantageous effects of the radical restructuration surmounted, production increases with the flow of new inputs in accelerated pace due to the exploitation of the economies of scale. The obstacles to production are similar in socialist countries with and without collectivisation. This suggests a multicausal explanation, which ought not to be limited to the only cause of the formation of the collective farms. Agrarian policies of the socialist countries advance from monolithism to a plurality of socialist models, all of equal status and right. This contributes to outdate the idea of the hegemony of any one country. While one group - the poorest - have advanced more quickly in transforming their structure, the other group the states better equipped with industries - have made more progress in modernising the agrarian sector and increasing its production. Uniformity in agrarian policy is replaced by a growing multiplicity of models, instruments and actual goals.