Beschreibung:
<jats:p>This article analyses of the emergence and adaptation of the welfare state in Finnish agricultural policy. It is based on earlier studies of the development of Finnish agricultural policy in 1930‐1980. The data used in these studies consist of statistical analyses, as well as information gleaned from newspapers and documents issued by the Finnish Parliament and agricultural administration. The documents describe the arguments in favour of the new policy schemes presented by policy makers during that period. Equality was a major component of these arguments, with a shift from creating equality of opportunity to equality of results. This change in argumentation is interpreted as an indication of a growing institutionalization of welfare rationality in agricultural policy. Welfare state rationality started to develop in agricultural policy at the same time and sometimes even earlier as in social policy. This outcome can be used to reinterpret the characteristics and the development of the Finnish welfare state.</jats:p>