Agrarianism is social philosophy or political philosophy which values rural society as superior to urban society, the independent farmer as superior to the paid worker, and sees farming as a way of life that can shape the ideal social values. It stresses the superiority of a simpler rural life as opposed to the complexity of city life.
Classical era Greece and Rome In Greece, Hesiod, Aristotle, and Xenophon promoted agrarian ideas. Even more influential were such Roman thinkers as Cato, Cicero, Horace, and Virgil. They all praised the virtues of a life devoted to the tilling of the soil.Pitirim A. Sorokin, et al., eds. A systematic source book in rural sociology (1930) vol 1 pp. 24–52Paul H. Johnstone, "Turnips and Romanticism," Agricultural History, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Jul., 1938), pp. 224–255 in JSTOR
China
Agriculturalism (農家/农家; Nongjia) was an early agrarian social and political philosophy in ancient China that advocated peasant utopian communalism and egalitarianism. The philosophy is founded on the notion that human society originates with the development of agriculture, and societies are based upon "people's natural propensity to farm."
The Agriculturalists believed that the ideal government, modeled after the semi-mythical governance of Shennong, is led by a benevolent king, one who works alongside the people in tilling the fields. The Agriculturalist king is not paid by the government through its treasuries; his livelihood is derived from the profits he earns working in the fields, not his leadership. Unlike the Confucians, the Agriculturalists did not believe in the division of labour, arguing instead that the economic policies of a country need to be based upon an egalitarian self sufficiency. The Agriculturalists supported the fixing of prices, in which all similar goods, regardless of differences in quality and demand, are set at exactly the same, unchanging price.
They encouraged farming and agriculture and taught farming and cultivation techniques, as they believed that agricultural development was the key to a stable and prosperous society. The philosopher Mencius once criticised its chief proponent Xu Xing (許行) for advocating that rulers should work in the fields with their subjects. One of Xu's students is quoted as having criticized the duke of Teng in a conversation with Mencius by saying: ‘A worthy ruler feeds himself by ploughing side by side with the people, and rules while cooking his own meals. Now Teng on the contrary possesses granaries and treasuries, so the ruler is supporting himself by oppressing the people’.
18th and 19th centuries Physiocrats Physiocracy was a French agrarian philosophy that originated in the 18th century. The movement was particularly dominated by François Quesnay (1694–1774) and Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727–1781).Steiner (2003) p62 The Physiocrats were partially influenced by Chinese agrarianism; leading physiocrats like François Quesnay were avid Confucianists that advocated China's agrarian policies.
18th- and 19th-century Europeans and Americans Borrowing from the French Physiocrats the idea that all wealth originates with the land, making farming the only truly productive enterprise, agrarianism claims that agriculture is the foundation of all other professions. Philosophically, European agrarianism reflects the ideas of John Locke, who declared in his Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) that those who work the land are its rightful owners. His labor theory of value influenced the thinking of Thomas Jefferson, who in turn shaped the way many 19th-century American homesteaders understood ownership of their farms. Jefferson wrote in 1785 in a letter to John Jay that
The political philosopher James Harrington influenced the development of explicit agrarian designs for the colonies of Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. James Edward Oglethorpe, who founded Georgia in 1733, implemented a comprehensive physical, social, and economic development plan organised around the central concept of "agrarian equality." The Oglethorpe Plan allocated land in grants of equal size, prohibited acquisition of additional land through marriage or acquisition, and prohibited slavery for moral reasons as well as to prevent the formation of large plantations like those that existed in neighbouring South Carolina.Wilson, Thomas D. The Oglethorpe Plan: Enlightenment Design in Savannah and Beyond. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press, 2012, pp. 50, 57-59, 70-71, 187-192.
Richard Hofstadter has traced the sentimental attachment to the rural way of life, which he describes as "a kind of homage that Americans have paid to the fancied innocence of their origins." Hofstadter notes that to call this a "myth" is not to imply that the idea is simply false. Rather the myth so effectively informs an agrarian ethos that it profoundly influences people's ways of perceiving values and hence their behaviour. He emphasises the importance of the agrarian myth in American politics and life even after industrialisation revolutionised the American economy and life. He stresses the significance of the writings of Jefferson and his followers in the South, such as John Taylor of Caroline in the development of agricultural fundamentalism.Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (1955)
American politicians, for example, boasted of their agrarian or log-cabin origins, and praised the republicanism of the yeoman farmers.W. Burlie Brown, "The Cincinnatus Image in Presidential Politics," Agricultural History Vol. 31, No. 1 (Jan., 1957), pp. 23–29 in JSTOR
In the late 18th and early 19th century, agrarianism felt the influence of the European Romanticism movement. Romantics focused attention on the individual and described nature as a spiritual force. At a time when pristine wilderness was becoming scarce in many parts of Europe, what constitutes “nature” was confused with the last remnants of wilderness—cultivated fields, managed woodlands, and cultivated livestock and crops. As someone in constant contact with (this watered-down version of) “nature”, the farmer was positioned to experience moments that transcend the mundane material world. In doing so, these thinkers managed to redefine nature in the human image, accommodating enclosure with a new “domesticated” version of nature.
Ireland Agrarian Rebellions
In Ireland, many agrarian rebellions occurred during the 18th and the 19th century because of the discontented rural landless Catholics. The first outbreaks occurred in 1711 to 1713, when a group called the ‘Houghers’ slaughtered many sheep and cattle owned by landlords. This event became widespread and affected many other western counties in Ireland. However, the actions taken by the ‘Houghers’ didn't produce any successors and did not create a tradition for peasant revolt. It took almost 50 years to see another agrarian rebellion in Ireland. This time the Whiteboy movement led the outbreak between 1761 and 1765. This particular outbreak created a tradition of peasant protest throughout the provinces of Munster and Leinster. The first operations of the Whiteboys succeeded but did not have a long-lasting effect. The Whiteboys caused a second outbreak between 1769 and 1776. The outbreak started slowly but intensified quickly. At the same time, the Hearts of Steel and the Steelboys, who were also agrarian movements, led outbreaks in other parts of Ireland. The main goals of the Whiteboy movement were to short-circuit the judicial system, lower the price of the rents and the reduction of the tithe on potatoes and corn.James S. Donnelly, Irish Agrarian Rebellion: The Whiteboys of 1769-76 (Royal Irish Academy, 83C, 1983), pp. 293-296.
In the late 18th century and early 19th century, the competition for potato land was extremely high in Ireland. This competition over land led to a lot of agrarian violence.James S. Donnelly, The Great Irish Potato Famine (Gloucestershire, The History Press, 2012, p. 4.
In the 1820s, a new agrarian movement was created in Ireland called the Rockites. This newly formed movement was one of the most violent agrarian movements that Ireland has ever seen in its history. They would commit murder and use incendiary weapons in warfare. Most of their support came from the poor population. The actions taken by the Rockites led to the reinforcement of military presence in Ireland. Many observers believe that the creation of the Rockite movement occurred because of a single man called Alexander Hoskins. Alexander Hoskins owned over 34,000 acres of land around the small town of Newcastle West. People complained that he managed the land poorly and with irregularity. During 1821–22, Ireland went into an agricultural crisis, which led to an economic disaster that largely affected the rural population. However, the main reason why the Rockites took violent action in Ireland was to fight against those who owned economic survival. The competition for land at that time was very intense and the Rockites showed that the poor population would do anything to obtain some.James S. Donnelly, "Captain Rock: The Origins of the Irish Agrarian Rebellion of 1821-24," New Hibernia Review (2007) 11#1 pp. 47-72.
20th century In the 1910s and 1920s, agrarianism garnered significant popular attention, but was eclipsed after 1945 as Agrarian movements were suppressed behind the Iron Curtain. It revived somewhat in conjunction with the environmental movement, and has been drawing an increasing number of adherents.
Central and Eastern Europe Eastern European theorists include Pyotr Stolypin (1862–1911) and Alexander ChayanovFrank Bourgholtzer, "Aleksandr Chayanov And Russian Berlin," Journal of Peasant Studies, July 1999, Vol. 26 Issue 4, pp. 13–53 (1888–1939) in Russia; Adolph Wagner (1835–1917), and Karl Oldenberg in Germany,Kenneth D. Barkin, "Conflict and Concord in Wilhelmian Social Thought," Central European History March 1972, Vol. 5 Issue 1, pp. 55–71 and Bolesław Limanowski (1835–1935) in Poland.K. J. Cottam, "Boleslaw Limanowski, A Polish Theoretician Of Agrarian Socialism," Slavonic and East European Review, Jan 1973, Vol. 51 Issue 122, pp. 58–74
In Russia the intellectuals of the "Populists" (Narodnaya VolyaIsaiah Berlin, "The Populists' Moral Condemnation of Russia Political and Social Systems," in Arthur E. Adams, ed. Problems of European Civilization: Imperial Russia after 1861 (1965)) and, later, the Socialist-Revolutionary Party developed a theoretical basis for a peasant movement, building a rich, well-developed humanistic ideology which influenced eastern Europe, especially the Balkans. It never attained the international visibility among peasants that socialism did among the urban workers.Hannu Immonen, The Agrarian Program of the Russian Socialist Revolutionary Party, 1900–1911 (1988).
In Poland Bolesław Limanowski thought deeply about Agrarianism and worked out an eclectic program that fit Polish conditions. His practical experience as a farm manager combined with socialist, "single-tax," and Slavic communal ideas shaped his world view. He proposed a form of agrarian socialism with large state farms to counteract the inefficiency of very small holdings. In independent Poland he advocated expropriation of gentry estates. His observation of peasant individualism convinced him that Poland should combine voluntary collectivism and individual possession of the leased land. His pragmatism left room even for private peasant ownership, despite his Marxism.K.J. Cottam, "Boleslaw Limanowski, A Polish Theoretician of Agrarian Socialism," Slavonic and East European Review (1973) 51#122 pp. 58–74 in JSTOR
Canada