September 21, 2009

By hand - Agrarianism

i have found a concept of living that i don't completely disagree with ... yet. Something that is kinda appealing in a very back-to-basics way of living. It is called Agrarianism and as of right now (the 1 day that i have been doing research on it) i have found it appealing. Maybe i could find or invent a sort of modern agrarianism that can incorporate that traditional philosophy of working with ones hands, politics and homeschooling with a more modern approach to selective technology, religion, and socializing, being cultured. I wanna take traditional Agrarianism and make it cute. :)

Here are some websites that i have found right now in conjunction to the philosophy of Agrarianism.

Homestead Heritage - i grew up as a homeschooler, every year the Day after Thanksgiving we would go to their Craft and Children's Fair something i always love but never truly considered until now.

This Agrarian Life - this is a blog of an agrarian with a little more Christian spin on things

The New Agrarian - haven't been able to explore this website completely yet.

The Deliberate Agrarian - Another blog that i haven't explored yet

THOUGHTS on the SUBJECT
I agree with ...
the living off the grid capabilities
the skills of being able to work with your hands
the Christian aspect of the community
the semi rural lifestyle - i couldn't stand living in some neighborhood where all the houses look the same
the living without over-consumption, advertising overload, materialism
self-sufficiency

I disagree with ...
(most of these things could be modernized and have a more modern appeal)
the lack of socialism of the children
the lack of technology, even though i believe i could do without a lot of the media we have now.
some of the politics
some of the strict Christian views

This is straight out of the reputable source known as Wikipedia

Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy which stresses the viewpoint that a rural or semi-rural lifestyle, most especially agricultural pursuits such as farming or ranching, leads to a fuller, happier, cleaner, and more sustainable way of life for both individuals and society as a whole.
Philosophy 
In the introduction to his 1969 book Agrarianism in American LiteratureM. Thomas Inge defines agrarianism by the following basic tenets:

  • Cultivation of the soil provides direct contact with nature; through the contact with nature, the agrarian is acquires the virtues of "honor, manliness, self-reliance, courage, moral integrity, and hospitality" and follows the example of God when creating order out of chaos.
  • The farmer "has a sense of identity, a sense of historical and religious tradition, a feeling of belonging to a concrete family, place, and region, which are psychologically and culturally beneficial." The harmony of this life checks the encroachments of a fragmented, alienated modern society that has grown to inhuman scale.
  • In contrast, farming offers more independence and self-sufficiency. It has a solid, stable position in the world order. But urban life,capitalism, and technology destroy independence and dignity while fostering vice and weakness. The agricultural community can provide checks and balances against the imbalances of modern society by its fellowship of labor and cooperation with other agrarians, while obeying the rhythms of nature.

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