From communal farming to household production: The development of capitalism in rural southeastern France.
Item
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Title
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From communal farming to household production: The development of capitalism in rural southeastern France.
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Identifier
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AAI9207071
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identifier
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9207071
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Creator
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Ferraro, Chantal.
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Contributor
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Adviser: June Nash
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Date
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1991
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Anthropology, Cultural | History, European | Economics, Agricultural
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Abstract
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In 1962 the French government passed a law providing for the institutionalization of Groupements Agricoles d'Exploitation en Commun (GAEC), or joint farming agricultural groupings. It did so in response to rural unrest and to the need for agricultural modernization created by the involvement of France in the European Economic Community. In the first decade communal GAECs between neighbors were the dominant form of association, while in recent years kin-embedded GAECs, especially associations between one man and his son, prevail all over France. Based on twelve months field work in Meilleux, in Southeastern France, this thesis investigates the transformation of GAECs from communal to kin-embedded forms. This transformation of the productive system is paralleled by a transformation of the GAEC ideology at the local level. The instability of communal GAECs is explained in terms of the social conflict producing limitations imposed on the farming household by the state-induced dichotomy between GAEC and non-GAEC members. The popularity of kin-GAECs is explained in terms of their ability to mobilize household resources, emphasizing especially gender and generational relationships. This thesis shows that the unanticipated consequence of government intervention in the dominance of older farmers over juniors and women, the increasing prevalence of capitalist criteria in decision-making and the destruction of mutual aid communality that characterized pre-GAEC relations contradicts an ideological commitment to egalitarian norms.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
