The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community, and the Land
The twenty-first century offers a host of daunting cultural and environmental problems facing a booming world population: community disintegration, social anxiety, international terrorism, voter disenchantment, a growing gap between rich and poor, habitat destruction, biopatenting/biotechnology, global warming, and resource depletion. Standing as an alternative to the modern paradigms in industry, technology, and economics, agrarianism is not a throwback to a mythical rural past but a...
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Agrarian philosophy, a compelling worldview with advocates around the globe, encourages us to develop practices and policies that promote the sustainable health of the land, community, and culture. In this remarkable anthology are 15 essays from Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Wes Jackson, Gene Logsdon, Brian Donahue, Eric Freyfogle, David Orr, and others. The Essential Agrarian Reader calls us to celebrate the gifts of the earth, through honest work and respect for the land. Library Journal Agrarianism, a set of values rooted in place and soil, is diametrically opposed to global industrialization and devastation. Instead, it strives to appreciate, understand, and care for the earth and its inhabitants. It also realizes that a sound food economy is based on sound farming practices. In this collection of eminently quotable and passionately argued essays, farmers, philosophers, scientists, and environmentalists look at the ways in which industrial agriculture, unchecked consumerism, and the squandering of natural resources have caused great harm. "I cannot imagine," writes David Orr, "a system built on exploitation, consumption, growth, and uniformity-however cleverly managed-as anything other than a prelude to ruin." Particularly inspiring in its celebration of existence is "Placing the Soul: An Agrarian Philosophy," by editor Wirzba (philosophy, Georgetown Coll.). Several of the pieces were originally speeches delivered at a 2002 conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the publication of Wendell Berry's groundbreaking The Unsettling of America. Berry, of course, is represented here. While similar to the equally informative and thought-provoking The New Agrarianism, edited by Eric Freyfogle, The Essential Agrarian Reader is preferred for libraries with limited budgets as the contributors cover a wider range of topics, are leaders in their fields, and have lucid, expressive writing styles. Highly recommended.-Ilse Heidmann, Washington State Lib., Olympia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
ForewordIntroduction: Why Agrarianism Matters - Even to Urbanites1Pt. 1Agrarian Principles and Priorities1The Agrarian Standard232The Resettling of America343The Mind-Set of Agrarianism ... New and Old524Sustainable Economic Development: Definitions, Principles, Policies625Placing the Soul: An Agrarian Philosophical Principle80Pt. 2Assessing Our Situation6The Current State of Agriculture: Does It Have a Future?1017Globalization and the War against Farmers and the Land1218The Agrarian Mind: Mere Nostalgia or a Practical Necessity?1409All Flesh Is Grass: A Hopeful Look at the Future of Agrarianism15410The Uses of Prophecy171Pt. 3Putting Agrarianism to Work11Country and City: The Common Vision of Agrarians and New Urbanists19112New Agrarians: Local Innovators21213The Legal and Legislative Front: The Fight Against Industrial Agriculture22214Private Property Rights in Land: An Agrarian View23715Going to Work259Further Reading267Contributors271Index273
\ Library JournalAgrarianism, a set of values rooted in place and soil, is diametrically opposed to global industrialization and devastation. Instead, it strives to appreciate, understand, and care for the earth and its inhabitants. It also realizes that a sound food economy is based on sound farming practices. In this collection of eminently quotable and passionately argued essays, farmers, philosophers, scientists, and environmentalists look at the ways in which industrial agriculture, unchecked consumerism, and the squandering of natural resources have caused great harm. "I cannot imagine," writes David Orr, "a system built on exploitation, consumption, growth, and uniformity-however cleverly managed-as anything other than a prelude to ruin." Particularly inspiring in its celebration of existence is "Placing the Soul: An Agrarian Philosophy," by editor Wirzba (philosophy, Georgetown Coll.). Several of the pieces were originally speeches delivered at a 2002 conference celebrating the 25th anniversary of the publication of Wendell Berry's groundbreaking The Unsettling of America. Berry, of course, is represented here. While similar to the equally informative and thought-provoking The New Agrarianism, edited by Eric Freyfogle, The Essential Agrarian Reader is preferred for libraries with limited budgets as the contributors cover a wider range of topics, are leaders in their fields, and have lucid, expressive writing styles. Highly recommended.-Ilse Heidmann, Washington State Lib., Olympia Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ From the Publisher"In this collection of eminently quotable and passionately argued essays, farmers, philosophers, scientists, and environmentalists look at the ways in which industrial agriculture, unchecked consumerism, and the squandering of natural resources have caused great harm." -- Library Journal (starred review)\ "Here is a primer on real 'homeland security' -- on preserving the sources of clean air, pure water, nutritious food, caring communities, and good work. In essays charged with logic and passion, these new agrarians show what we must do to assure our own well-being and that of future generations. If you wish to understand what's wrong with our present way of life, and if you wish to envision a more decent, sustainable, and joyful alternative, then read on." -- Scott Russell Sanders, author of Hunting for Hope\ "Each [essay] contains its own valuable lesson -- and more importantly, each one offers hope." -- Snail\ \ \
