Evolution of the concept of 'agrarian revolution'

The article deals with the evolution of the concept of ‘agrarian revolution / agrarian upheaval’ from the first half of the 19th century, when theorists began to comprehend the processes that took place at that time in the agrarian sector of Western Europe, and up to the present time. The article identifies three main approaches to the analysis of transformation processes in agriculture: technological, social and economic. Adherents of the technological approach focused on the transition from the three-field to the crop rotation and other technological innovations of the agrarian sector during its modernization. For supporters of the social approach, the main problem of modernization was the negative social consequences of the agrarian revolution, primarily for the peasantry. The authors who adhered to the economic approach focused on the reasons for the growth of productivity of various factors of production in the agrarian sector, mainly labor and land. The article shows that the focusing on one or another problem was closely related to the stage of the socio-economic system within which the authors worked. In addition, the article reviews original works on the possibility of modernizing the agrarian sector in Eastern European countries, raising the question of the dependence of the industrial revolution on the processes in agriculture.