Schneider S., Tomazzoni G.C. Panorama of cooperativism in Brazilian agriculture in Alexander Chayanov’s perspective // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2026. V.11. №1. P. 25-54.

EDN: DRJNJY

Annotation

In the last decade, Brazil has witnessed a significant expansion of cooperativism in agriculture. However, the cooperative movement did not follow a uniform pattern, revealing asymmetries and inequalities in Brazilian cooperativism. The article aims at describing cooperativism in Brazilian agriculture, for which the authors analyze data of agricultural censuses (IBGE, 2006; 2017), using markers to distinguish socialpolitical categories of family and non-family agriculture. In addition, the authors examine variables related to gender and education characteristics of farmers, distribution of rural units by area, purpose of agricultural production, sources of income, and access to technology. According to the results, there is a significant number of farmers affiliated with cooperatives in Brazil. However, cooperativism is concentrated in one of the five macroregions of the country and is more typical for non-family rather than family agriculture. Moreover, there are differences in cooperativism by size of property, and units associated with cooperatives in Brazil are more focused on marketing their production than the non-cooperative ones, which is reflected in the share of agricultural income in the total income of farmers and their families. Based on the results, the authors reconsider the ideas of Alexander Chayanov (2017) to assess the potential of cooperativism in the development of Brazilian agriculture if based on a more planned society and economy.

Keywords

Cooperativism, agriculture, Brazil, Alexander Chayanov.  

About the authors

Sergio Schneider, DSc (Sociology), Full Professor of Sociology of Rural Development and Food Studies, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Farroupilha, Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, 90010-150, Brazil.
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Gean Carlos Tomazzoni, PhD (Management), Associate Professor, Federal Technological University of Paraná. Av. Sete de Setembro, 3165, Rebouças, 80230-901, Curitiba, State of Paraná, Brazil.
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Mikhalenko N. V. Utopian idea in the Russian literature of the 1920s–1930s (The Journey of My Brother Alexei to the Land of Peasant Utopia by A. V. Chayanov in the context of the era) // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2021. V.6. №4. P. 6-20.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2021-6-4-6-20

Annotation

Alexander Chayanov’s book The Journey of My Brother Alexei to the Land of Peasant Utopia is deeply rooted in the late 19th—early 20th century’s literary and philosophical ideas. His utopia was influenced not only by the futuristic projects of William Morris, Thomas Moore, Edward Bellamy and other authors mentioned in the book, but also by the ideas interpreted in the works of Vladimir Mayakovsky, Vladimir Kirillov, Evgeny Zamyatin, Andrei Platonov, and others. The picture of the peasant paradise presented by Chayanov’s economic ideas is similar to the dreams of the neo-peasant poets about an ‘izba paradise’ (izba—a traditional Russian farmstead), preservation of traditional values and folk culture. Technological achievements are described in the works of Mayakovsky and Zamyatin, and Chayanov’s utopia adds the ability to control meteorological processes. The writers’ reflections on the future man were influenced by their interpretation of future theurgic ambitions and their possible results (artificial selection, strict regulation of many spheres of life, compulsory realization of gifts and talents, separation or even extermination of dissenters, etc.). The futurologist ideas about the development of society, science, art and culture, implemented in different art forms, were tested to check the man’s ability to identify the limits of his power over his own nature while not attempting to suppress or change according to the challenges of technology.

Keywords

Utopia, utopian idea in the Russian literature of the 1920s–1930s, Alexander Chayanov, Alexander Bogdanov, Sergey Esenin, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Andrei Platonov, Evgeny Zamyatin.

About the author

Natalia V. Mikhalenko, PhD (Philology), Senior Researcher, А. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Povarskaya St. 25а, 121069 Moscow, Russia.
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