DISCOURSES ON MODERNIZATION OF AN AGRARIAN SOCIETY IN THE FIRST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY ROMANIA
The topic of various modernization paths of agrarian societies has dominated the political and intellectual discourse for a century (1848-1948), a timespan that was characterized also by significant societal changes driven by both endogenous and exogenous factors. Acknowledging a state of utter backwardness in respect to the industrialized West and facing the prospect of deepening societal cleavages, Romanian elites have provided various insights and opinions on the clauses and remedies for the “peasant / agrarian issue”. This article aims at highlighting the main contentious topics in this regard, focusing on the issue framing within the pre- and inter- war ideological and intellectual discourses of Romanian elites.
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