The Laissez-Faire Peasant

Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia

Author: Jovana Diković

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Description

What if rural progress isn't about government intervention but about the self-reliance and ingenuity of peasants themselves?

The Laissez-Faire Peasant: Post-Socialist Rural Development in Serbia subverts conventional wisdom on rural development by shifting the focus from state-led planning to the agency of peasants themselves. Rejecting the notion that rural populations are passive victims of top-down policies, Jovana Dikovic presents a compelling ethnographic study of three Serbian villages, where autonomy and local cooperation drive economic and social resilience. She introduces the concept of the "laissez-faire peasant"--a figure who thrives outside rigid government schemes, shaping rural development on their own terms. By examining the friction between state policies and the everyday strategies of rural communities, Dikovic uncovers how peasant autonomy not only resists external intervention but fosters sustainable and self-sufficient growth.

The first in-depth study of contemporary Serbian peasantry, this book reframes rural life as a site of innovation rather than stagnation. An area of interest for scholars of post-socialist transitions, rural development, and economic anthropology, The Laissez-Faire Peasant provides a new lens on how rural communities survive and adapt in a rapidly changing world.

Critic Reviews

"Anthropologists and missionaries claim to love their peasants. Economists and planners claim to help them. Both look down. Dikovic brilliantly proposes a new approach, which might be called "humanomics''. It gives respect, looking up from where people actually live."-- "Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, University of Illinois at Chicago"
"In her excellent study Jovana Dikovic challanges the narrative about Serbian peasants usually viewed as downtrodden and exploited underdogs in need of governmental help. In this careful case study, these peasants represent an entrepreneurial, self -reliant and individualistic social group that can survive and thrive even in the conditions of modern and technologically advanced capitalism."-- "Ivan Jankovic, Institut auf dem Rosenberg"

About the Author

Jovana Diković is an economic anthropologist, publicist, and Head of Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth at the Center for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, School of Management, Fribourg.