
As a European, I have always tought that the life of agrarians before the industrial revolution was fasinating. It looked like such a peace full time where men worked hard but enjoyed what they did. The children often helped out on the farm from a young age and took over the family farm eventually. People evolve and because of that certain things will never be like they used to. Because production on the farm became easier, less people where needed to work on the farm, and more peole where needed in the factories. People will go where the work is; the industrial revolution just moved people from their family business to the harsh city. I don’t thing real agrarian life still exist in the US. Multinational companies now own farms, and everything is mass-produced. Family owned farms struggle to survive because of the big business farms. On top of that like Chris said, we can import products cheap, and this makes it hard for US farmers to sell their produce for a decent price.
Ann-Sophie,
Great! Thanks for giving us an international outlook on the discussion.
Let’s go deeper with your comment, “I don’t thing real agrarian life still exist in the US.” Can you support your premise with sources?
Do you feel that events happen in cycles? If so, what about agrarian values? People are more concerned with sustainability and the environment.
Professor Green
Agrarian culture as a dominant way of life for American civilization is not very prevalent today. However, remnants of the Agrarian teachings and way of life live through several sects that are based upon preserving and teaching the lifestyle of Agrarianism. One such example is the GreerCrest Farm in Oregon, which describes itself as a place “where Agrarian Culture is Lived & Taught.” (GreerCrest, 2012). Also, over recent years, more and more environmentally-conscious movements have surfaced around the country. Several of these groups embody similar value-structures to the Agrarians. Being from a small rural town in West Tennessee, it was not uncommon for me to see Mennonite families around town as I was growing up. This tight-knit community of people’s lives revolve around agriculture and many have their own schools and businesses. As long as these organizations exist, the principles, though not widely in practice, are not lost.
Reference:
GeerCrest Farm, LLC: Where Agrarian Culture is Lived and Taught.
(2011) Retrieved from http://www.greercrestfarm.com/
Chris,
Interesting!
Do you feel that environmentalists are related to Agrarians?
Professor Green
Agrarian beliefs stated that country living produced better people (Fite, 1967). I am not sure if I disagree with that. When America had agrarian beliefs people were nicer, had stronger values, and genuinely cared. There was a time when hard work in the fields was a political campaign in 1924 to get Calvin Coolidge elected for the highest office within the United States. While I can see why America has moved away from the agriculture lifestyle but I wish America stilled valued was the belief structure of agrarian people. My generation and the generation below me have placed a very small amount of importance on values and hard work.
Reference:
Fite, G. (1967). The agrarian tradition and its meaning for today. Retrieved from http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/40/v40i06p293-299.pdf
An overwhelming population of America has lost its agrarian values. People have moved away from agrarian lifestyle to a more industrialized and more individualistic style. One of the cornerstones of agrarian lifestyle was the community and family values. Now, unfortunately, families don’t even know their next door neighbors. According to Professor Green, “First, technology doesn’t automatically improve society. In over 50 years, America has gone from rural to city and from national to international market. Richard Critchfield, author of Trees, Why Do You Wait, argues that these advancements have weakened our core values such as family tradition and work ethic” (Green, 2010). Our society continues to progress towards a more industrialized nation and there’s no surprise why the principles of Agrarianism are lost, especially in family values and work ethic. With advancement of technology, we are seeing a deterioration of the core values that once made this country a strong nation. Astonishingly, in 1790, 90% of the American labor force was working in agriculture and now there is only 2.6%!
References:
Edwards, A. R. (2005). The sustainability revolution: Portrait of a paradigm shift. Gabriola, BC: New Society Publishers.
Green, D. (2010, 05 14). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/workplace-issues-in-knoxville/an-exploration-of-agrarian-values
Historical timeline — farmers & the land. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.agclassroom.org/gan/timeline/farmers_land.htm
Hammad,
Interesting observations! Yet, don’t you see some aspects of agrarian values through the environmental or anti-materialism movement?
Professor Green
Professor Green,
Yes I do see those agrarian values being sought out by environmental groups. Environmental groups such as GreenPeace are advocating the sustainable management of our natural resources because there is a growing concern about how to create sustainability in the future. We have done a lot of harm to the environment and the whole concept of agrarianism that has been lost needs to be continually revived.
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Agrarian is defined as relating to land, land tenure, or the division of landed property: agrarian laws, pertaining to the advancement of agricultural groups: an agrarian movement (Dictionary.com, 2012). Just by the simple definition the agrarian principles are lost. People started flooding the cities once jobs were created, government offered services, and housing was built. With the mass exodus of people to the cities agrarians had to become more resourceful and efficient. Even today with the new found resourcefulness the agrarian way of life has been impacted by the wages of doing business in America. The simple fact of the matter the US has priced itself out of the game. It is cheaper and easier to import food to feed the US than it is to grow and produce of the land. Unfortunately, the agrarian ways are lost within the US. That is not to say that the agrarian society is not still alive in other parts of the world.
References:
Agrarian definition. (2012, January 21). Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/agrarian
Chris,
Excellent observation!
Professor Green