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Book Summary of Conflict and Crisis in Rural America by Larry W. Waterfield
Citation:
Conflict and Crisis in Rural America, Larry W. Waterfield, ( New York: Praeger, 1986), 232 pp.
This Book Summary written by: T.A. O'Lonergan, Conflict Research Consortium
Conflict and Crisis in Rural America is an examination of the nature
of rural America and its relationship to urban America. This work discusses the
conflicts which increasingly arise between the two regions over land use
and growth issues.
Conflict and Crisis in Rural America will be of interest to those
who seek an understanding of the increasing rural-urban polarization. The first
chapter is a profile of rural America. The author offers statistics on: growth
in both areas, growth in farm debts, and decreases in
farm income, prefatory to a discussion of the industrialization
of rural America. Chapter two is an examination of the nature of the land in
the United States. The author offers statistics on: the amount of arable
land, urban and rural population densities, and the percentages of
land owned by governments and private interests. This is followed by a
discussion of land as a singular form of wealth.
Chapter three examines the key international role that rural America
plays in wheat, corn, and soybean production.
The author discusses what he terms MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) governmental
programs in an attempt to explain these "convoluted and esoteric"
programs. This chapter concludes with an inquiry into who controls rural land,
(the author asserts that it is not individual farmers), and where the money from
that control is held. Waterfield next addresses the bases of the rural
economy. He explores: the livestock, fruit and vegetable,
and dairy industries; and the rural role in forestry, fuel
and fiber production and as the location for recreational
activities.
Waterfield discusses several of the components of the politics of food. He
examines the roles played by: the executive branch; the agribusiness,
food, rural advocacy, environmental and consumer
lobbies. Chapter five is concluded with an eleven point agenda for rural
America. The next chapter is a collection of news stories and anecdotes about
misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the business and population of rural
America. This if followed by an examination of underdevelopment,
beginning with a definition and its incidence in rural America. The author
devotes chapter eight to the US Department of Agriculture
and considers it a "state within a state".
Chapter nine begins with a comparison of the effect on values of
rural areas in Japan and the US. The former instills the value
of cooperation and the latter the value of self-reliance
and independence. The author asserts this to be the result of the
nature of both the land and what it produces. The next focus is on the way
rural America is portrayed in the media, music and in art and
literature. Following the recommendation that rural America is an appropriate
model of rural efficiency toward which other countries might
strive, the author addresses the radical agenda of the so-called prairie
populist. Conflict and Crisis in Rural America is a careful
examination of the nature and role of rural America in food production
and as the source of deeply held American values.
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