Between Public and Private: A Study of the Rural Fertilization System during the Collectivization Period (1949–1963) – With a Focus on Shanxi Province

Abstract Manure is a critical productive resource for agricultural development. With the advancement of the collectivization movement, household manure accumulation became a key source of fertilizer for collective agricultural operations. However, the process of farmers contributing fertilizer to the collective faced setbacks due to factors such as unreasonable compensation. In response, various localities gradually developed fertilization systems centered around tasks, compensation, and rewards and penalties. The essence of these systems was an economic balance between collective fertilizer use and increased farmer income, generally characterized by considerations for both public and private interests, but prioritizing the public over the private. In the dynamic restructuring of the relationship between labor input and income distribution, political norms and economic measures adjusted to one another. The economic rationality of the peasants interacted with the “egalitarianism” culture in rural areas, reflecting the complex interplay between public and private interests during the collectivization period in rural society.