The Emergence of Welfare State Rationality in Finnish Agricultural Policy.

The article presents information on the emergence of welfare State rationality in Finnish agricultural policy. Before World War II and during the following two decades, Finnish society was in many ways dominated by agriculture. This is certainly true to the extent that the proportion of the farming population is a valid indicator. Rurality was also deeply rooted in Finnish culture. Furthermore, agricultural issues were in the centre of domestic policy considerations. However, a major shift-concerning both agricultural and social policy in political life-took place in the late 1950s and 1960s. This article focuses on the co-existence of these two policy domains, that is, on the social aspects in Finnish agricultural policy. Before the shift after the World War II, an extensive resettlement scheme and an agrarian reform had been carried out. This was seen as a necessary solution for the problems of the landless rural population, which had not been addressed since the 1930s. Resettlement was also necessary for solving the urgent problems caused by the Karelian immigrants and the war losses of both farm properties and agricultural land to the Soviet Union.