Wage Labor and the Household Economy: A Russian Perspective, 1600–2000

Abstract

In this chapter, the author, Gijs Kessler, traces the ways in which Russian, Soviet and Western historiography have conceptualized and dealt with the issue amidst changing political and academic ideologies, and combine the evidence from the Russian case with the insights developed by Lucassen and others, to provide a long-term and comparative perspective on the rise of wage labor and processes of economic specialization within the household economy. He argues that systematic reliance of households on wage labor as one of many sources of income is as good, or perhaps an even better indication of economic modernization than outright proletarianization and household specialization in wage labor as such. Diversification of sources of income emerges as a strategy of modernization and adaptation to a changing environment, whereas specialization can be expected to occur in periods of social and economic stability. Keywords:Gijs Kessler; Household Economy; Lucassen; Russian; Wage Labor