1.2.5.1 Socialistic Agriculture
According to the socialistic ideology, private ownership
of land leads to exploitation. The socialization of the means
of production is, therefore, an essential element of this
agrarian system that is predominantly influenced by the political
ideology. Belonging to this is the conception that small farms
have been passed up by technical progress and should be combined
into large economic units, therefore. The third component
is the rigid state planning of the agricultural production.
The actual longterm goal abolishing the difference between
agricultural and industrial ways of life has not been achieved
to date. In fact, there are great differences between the
individual East European countries and Cuba regarding the
extent of their presently achieved socialization. Thus the
extent of the socialistic sector in agriculture fluctuates
between 96 % in the USSR and only 31 % and 25 % in Poland
and Yugoslavia, respectively. The rest is split among small
private farms and household plots that are allowed to the
members of the collectives in all of the countries.
Regarding the farm organization in socialistic agricultural
forms, a differentiation must be made between state farms
(sowkhoz) and collective farms (kolkhoz) The latter is often
given preference because although it is subjected to complete
state control, the state does not have to bear the economic
risk. This is shifted onto the shoulders of the members. Furthermore,
the state can influence and direct wage levels as well as
capital formation and capital transfer by means of delivery
quotas and fixed prices. In other words, it can use the agrarian
sector for its own economic policy goals. In this system,
the individual household plot production plays an important
role. In this case, labour intensive production is carried
out in order to improve the farm members' own supply while
simultaneously producing crops that are difficult to grow
on a large farm unit. Animal husbandry also plays a certain
role in the household plots. The profits allow an improvement
in the otherwise partially low incomes.
The system has a few elements that have to be regarded as
weak points from a production performance viewpoint. The collective
bas to employ anyone looking for work owing to the right of
employment, even if they are not needed. The percentage of
controllers and idle time resulting from red tape on government
farms is high. This, together with difficulties with the supply
of inputs, results in relatively low production performance
that, even over a longer period of time, cannot measure up
to the productivity of Western industrial countries, It must
be mentioned, however, that this is only one possible judgment
criterion. The picture would be different if one took the
factor contributions the capital and labour transfer in other
sectors and contribution towards the political goals in these
states into consideration.
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