Family Farming and Capitalist Development in Greek Agriculture: A Critical Review of the Literature

Abstract

This paper aims at the critical review of the studies concerning family farming in Greece by looking both at more general treatments of family farming issues connected with its integration into the wider economy and at specific empirical research on family farm operation. First, the paper discusses the definition and theoretical underpinnings of the family farm as developed in western literature. Then it provides the contextual information for the discussion following on Greek family farming. The next parts are devoted to a review of the debate over the development of capitalism in Greek agriculture and a critical evaluation of the work produced on family farming in the post‐1980 period in the country. This review deals mainly with methodological and theoretical arguments rather than actual empirical research on Greek family farming. Finally, a discussion is developed in search of a more holistic treatment of family farming in Greece.