Chapter 6: From workers’ cooperative to hired-labor farm: Accommodating to global market pressures in Slovak post-socialist agriculture

Among plentiful moves toward an ever globalized world economy, one of the most significant has been the fall of the socialist bloc and consequent political and economic reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Since its onset, post-socialist transformation has been primarily advocated as a bridge to the thorough involvement of the former regionally restricted command economies in worldwide market relations. This transition has been portrayed as both inevitable and beneficial (referred to in, e.g., Burawoy & Verdery, 1999; Spicer, McDermott, & Kogut, 2000). It was understood that the process of full involvement in the global economy would require a reconstruction of the legislative framework as well as a reorganization of production and trade.