Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
6-2023
Abstract
Chayanov’s The Theory of Peasant Cooperatives has been read as a work advocating the viability and even superiority of peasant cooperatives as compared to capitalist farming, we contend that it actually provides the strongest analysis of why most peasant cooperatives are doomed to fail. Chayanov identified five major obstacles peasant cooperatives face, and those obstacles push cooperatives into a vicious circle. Without powerful state support, it is nearly impossible to break the vicious circle. Based on 65 typical cooperatives from 20 provinces, this paper illustrates how these obstacles that Chayanov identified are precisely the reasons why almost all the cooperatives in our sample failed; while the pathway that Chayanov devised for successful cooperative movements seems non-existent in contemporary China. This study makes two dimensions of contribution: first, it comprehensively introduces the peasant cooperative theory of Chayanov, and second, it applies his theory to explain the failure of farmers’ cooperatives in China.
Keywords
Chayanov, farmers’ cooperatives, cooperative movement, peasant farming
Discipline
Agricultural and Resource Economics | Asian Studies
Research Areas
Sociology
Areas of Excellence
Growth in Asia
Publication
Open Times
Volume
2023
Issue
3
First Page
178
Last Page
194
ISSN
1004-2938
Citation
HU, Zhanping, ZHANG, Qian Forrest, & DONALDSON, John A..(2023). Understanding the dilemma of Chinese farmers' cooperatives: a Chayanov perspective. Open Times, 2023(3), 178-194.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/4183
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
