Land and labor in Europe in the twentieth century : a comparative survey of recent agrarian history

## F olke Dovring European experience with the land question should be of significance also for the underdeveloped countries. The farm problem touches more than the future of a large but relatively dec1ining sector of society and economy. Because of the ever deepening integration with other parts of the economy, changes in the farm sector have repercussions almost everywhere, and vice versa. The matters ofprinciple and ideal that are involved also make the land question one of the principal problem areas in socio-economic research. (4) It is hard to say how far a scientific analysis can modify basic conceptions of what human life should be. The manner in which scientific information has been used to cover or justify policies may be deceptive as to the bases on which decisions are really made. Political convictions are always ultimately derived from value judgments and these, of course, may have no rational foundation at all The task of the scientist, in his role as such, cannot be to advocate adefinite program of action. Rather, we hope to make adherents of different programs see more c1early than before the real nature of their assumptions and to grasp some of the consequences of the alternatives under discussion. Perhaps even, for some readers, old controversial positions may become obsolete and give way to a new formulation of the problem. ## AN HISTORICAL APPROACH (5) Sometimes, the most important thing about a problem is not so much its status as its trend of change. A situation may be fuU of difficulties and yet be left alone, if it shows distinct signs of improving by itself. Another situation, though for the moment no worse, may call for urgent measures if it tends to deteriorate. This is only one ofthe general reasons for a short-term historical approach to problems of social and economic policy. A reason for a longer-term historical outlook, and in Europe no less than elsewhere, is in the presence of disparate historical strata side by side in the situation of the day. In many cases, rural society has tended to develop slower and more unevenly than urban society. Perhaps the most striking are the disparities within and between the rural milieus. Modern development of European rural areas of the northern provinces in Portugal, Spain, and Italy. Between 200 and 400 hectares has a high frequency in large parts of the Netherlands and northern France, in north-western Germany as a whole, some Alpine provinces of Italy, most of Switzerland, Niederösterreich, western Croatia, Bosnia-Hercegovina and the Kosmet district in southern Yugoslavia. Between 400 and 1000 hectares is the most common magnitude of village territory median in some northern and some southern departments of France, in most of Belgium except Flanders, south-western and parts of eastern Germany, Bohemia, northern and central Poland, large parts of northern and central Russia, central Portugal, some northern provinces in Spain, some scattered provinces in Italy, most of Greece, Albania, Yugoslavian Macedonia, Old Serbia, central Croatia and the Carpathian distriets of Rumania. Village medians between 1000 and 2000 hectares are most common in two southern French departments and some western German distriets, large parts of Austria, most of Moravia-Silesia and Slovakia, a number of central Russian districts, southern Portugal, some central Spanish provinces, some provinces in southern Italy and Greece, and important parts of Bulgaria and Rumania. Between 2000 and 5000 hectares is more or less dominant in large parts of the Iberian peninsula, a number of Italian provinces, Yugoslavian Vojvodina, western and northern Hungary, most of Bulgaria, the Danube and Tisza valleys in Rumania, most of northern Ukraina and important parts of southern Russia. Between 5000 and 10 000 hectares were found to be of importance in nine Spanish and nine I talian provinces and some districts in south-eastern Hungary (on the Great Plains, or Alföld) band is likely to be significant also in Ukraina and the Caucasus. Village median territories in excess of 10 000 hectares appear to be normal in some provinces in southern Spain and at least two on the Italian mainland, at least half of Sicily, parts of the Hungarian Alföld b , and must also be represented in some southern areas of the Soviet Union, especially N orthern Caucasus. These village sizes are not changed because of rural exodus Front Matter....Pages I-XI Introduction....Pages 1-9 Agricultural Settlement and the Layout of Land....Pages 10-56 Land Supply and Labor Force....Pages 57-112 Farm Size....Pages 113-155 Land Tenure....Pages 156-201 Agricultural Co-Operation....Pages 202-233 Land Policy....Pages 234-277 Land Reform as a Propaganda Theme....Pages 278-375 Conclusions and Outlook....Pages 376-394 Back Matter....Pages 395-511