Page 11 - Panjek, Aleksander, Jesper Larsson and Luca Mocarelli, eds. 2017. Integrated Peasant Economy in a Comparative Perspective: Alps, Scandinavia and Beyond. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 11
foreword
are from upland and mountain areas in the Alps and Scandinavia, but also
from Japan, making comparison possible.
The Integrated Peasant Economy concept has similarities to Elinor Os-
trom’s theories about self-governing and self-organisation. As mentioned,
it emphasises the peasants as active players in determining their produc-
tion, but it also points to the fact that a lot of pre-industrial production re-
quired collective action. Peasants cooperated and worked in teams to per-
form work. In her work, Ostrom emphasised the importance of embracing
complexity to understand self-governing and collective action, similarly
the concept of Integrated Peasant Economy increases our understanding of
what a peasant was by focusing on the complexity of the household econ-
omy. It helps us to reveal the web of different activities and relationships
peasants had. To understand what a peasant was, one has to understand the
complexity of their economy, the web of networks they were part of.
The Integrated Peasant Economy concept has mostly focused on the
supply side, what peasants produced. But the supply side also has a demand
side. The Early Modern peasant did not only increase production, they also
became more involved in consumption. Peasants produced for towns and
merchants, but also for other peasants. They bought goods from towns and
traders, and in many places, there was also a flourishing trade between
peasants. Integrated Peasant Economy helps us to connect the demand and
supply side of the peasant economy by linking it to contemporary research
about an Early Modern “industrious revolution,” a concept launched by Jan
de Vries. By focusing on the complexity of peasant’s economy, and that they
could have stakes in all three economic sectors, it is possible to analyse how
the transformation of peasant’s work affected the time they spent on pro-
duction and their involvement in market activities.
By investigating to what extent many peasant households were in-
volved in activities outside agriculture Integrated Peasant Economy might
help us to better understand labour division within households. The house-
hold has always been kept together by social and kinship ties, but it was also
a production unit, and highlighting the complexity of this unit helps us to
investigate how it was possible to manage the different sectors. However, it
is important to remember that a lot of the household work performed was
not part of IPE, such as domestic work mostly performed by women.
The IPE can help us to better understand other aspects of the peasant’s
world as well; how peasants created contacts outside their local commu-
nity, how specialisation in production developed, the interaction between
9
are from upland and mountain areas in the Alps and Scandinavia, but also
from Japan, making comparison possible.
The Integrated Peasant Economy concept has similarities to Elinor Os-
trom’s theories about self-governing and self-organisation. As mentioned,
it emphasises the peasants as active players in determining their produc-
tion, but it also points to the fact that a lot of pre-industrial production re-
quired collective action. Peasants cooperated and worked in teams to per-
form work. In her work, Ostrom emphasised the importance of embracing
complexity to understand self-governing and collective action, similarly
the concept of Integrated Peasant Economy increases our understanding of
what a peasant was by focusing on the complexity of the household econ-
omy. It helps us to reveal the web of different activities and relationships
peasants had. To understand what a peasant was, one has to understand the
complexity of their economy, the web of networks they were part of.
The Integrated Peasant Economy concept has mostly focused on the
supply side, what peasants produced. But the supply side also has a demand
side. The Early Modern peasant did not only increase production, they also
became more involved in consumption. Peasants produced for towns and
merchants, but also for other peasants. They bought goods from towns and
traders, and in many places, there was also a flourishing trade between
peasants. Integrated Peasant Economy helps us to connect the demand and
supply side of the peasant economy by linking it to contemporary research
about an Early Modern “industrious revolution,” a concept launched by Jan
de Vries. By focusing on the complexity of peasant’s economy, and that they
could have stakes in all three economic sectors, it is possible to analyse how
the transformation of peasant’s work affected the time they spent on pro-
duction and their involvement in market activities.
By investigating to what extent many peasant households were in-
volved in activities outside agriculture Integrated Peasant Economy might
help us to better understand labour division within households. The house-
hold has always been kept together by social and kinship ties, but it was also
a production unit, and highlighting the complexity of this unit helps us to
investigate how it was possible to manage the different sectors. However, it
is important to remember that a lot of the household work performed was
not part of IPE, such as domestic work mostly performed by women.
The IPE can help us to better understand other aspects of the peasant’s
world as well; how peasants created contacts outside their local commu-
nity, how specialisation in production developed, the interaction between
9
