Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

5-10-2018

Department

Political Science

Keywords

agrarianism, history, democracy, aristocracy, farming

Abstract

Agrarianism is a political philosophy and way of life known and prac­ticed among peoples of diverse nationalities and religions. While having ancient, medieval, and early-modern roots, agrarian politics blossomed most dramatically in America, during both its colonial and republican periods. Notable spokesmen for American agrarianism include Thomas Jefferson, William Jennings Bryan, and Robert La Follette. It has been in steady decline for the past century as cosmopolitan and centralizing forc­es have displaced tradition and smallness of scale. Still, there have been natural voices lamenting losses in the face of"progress": Distributists and Southern Agrarians, the Counterculture and the Green Party, Wendell Berry and Crunchy Cons.

Comments

Chapter from the book Localism and the Mass Age: A Front Porch Republic Manifesto, edited by Mark T. Mitchell and Jason Peters. 2018.

Used by permission of Wipf and Stock Publishers. www.wipfandstock.com

Source Publication Title

Localism in the Mass Age

Publisher

Wipf and Stock Publishers

First Page

77

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