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Independence and individualism: conflated values in farmer cooperation?

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  • Steven Emery

Abstract

Social scientists have long examined the changing role of the individual, and the influence of individualism in social and economic arrangements as well as behavioral decisions. With respect to co-operative behavior among farmers, however, the ideology of individualism has been little theorized in terms of its relationship to the longstanding virtue of independence. This paper explores this relationship by combining analysis of historical literature on the agricultural cooperative movement with the accounts of contemporary English farmers. I show that the virtue of independence is deployed to justify a variety of cooperative (formal and informal) and non-cooperative practices and that, despite apparently alternative interpretations, independence is most often conflated with individualistic premises. That conflation, I argue, leads farmers to see their neighbors as natural competitors: as those from whom which independence must be sought. This has the effect of masking the structural dependencies which farmers face (such as lenders and large purchasers) and limits the alternatives available to them to realize a view of independence that is maintained, rather than opposed, by interdependent collective action. Thus perceived, individualism is an ideological doctrine that succeeds by appealing to the virtue of independence, while simultaneously denying its actual realization. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

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  • Steven Emery, 2015. "Independence and individualism: conflated values in farmer cooperation?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(1), pages 47-61, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:32:y:2015:i:1:p:47-61
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-014-9520-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Daniel E. May & Graham J. Tate, 2011. "Exploring economic and social-psychological factors in explaining farmers' willingness to participate in cooperative alliances," International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 329-346.
    2. Stofferahn, Curtis, 2004. "Individualism or Cooperation: Preferences for Sharing Machinery and Labor," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 18, pages 1-17.
    3. Stofferahn, Curtis W., 2010. "South Dakota Soybean Processors: The Discourse of Conversion from Cooperative to Limited Liability Corporation," Journal of Cooperatives, NCERA-210, vol. 24, pages 1-33.
    4. May, Daniel E., 2012. "Non-Economic Drivers Influencing Farmers' Incentives to Cooperate: Do they Remain Robust through Policy Changes?," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 40(2), pages 1-23.
    5. Spriggs, John & Hobbs, Jill E. & Fearne, Andrew, 2000. "Beef Producer Attitudes To Coordination And Quality Assurance In Canada And The Uk," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 3(1), pages 1-15.
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthew Houser & Ryan Gunderson & Diana Stuart & Riva C. H. Denny, 2020. "How farmers “repair” the industrial agricultural system," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 37(4), pages 983-997, December.
    2. Johanna Norris & Bettina Matzdorf & Rena Barghusen & Christoph Schulze & Bart van Gorcum, 2021. "Viewpoints on Cooperative Peatland Management: Expectations and Motives of Dutch Farmers," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Nilsson, Jerker & Helgesson, Matilda & Rommel, Jens & Svensson, Ellinor, 2020. "Forest-owner support for their cooperative's provision of public goods," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Plateau, Lou & Roudart, Laurence & Hudon, Marek & Maréchal, Kevin, 2021. "Opening the organisational black box to grasp the difficulties of agroecological transition. An empirical analysis of tensions in agroecological production cooperatives," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    5. Ricart, Sandra & Gandolfi, Claudio, 2017. "Balancing irrigation multifunctionality based on key stakeholders’ attitudes: Lessons learned from the Muzza system, Italy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 461-473.
    6. Johann Strube, 2019. "Pockets of peasantness: small-scale agricultural producers in the Central Finger Lakes region of upstate New York," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 36(4), pages 837-848, December.
    7. Clements, Jen & Lobley, Matt & Osborne, Juliet & Wills, Jane, 2021. "How can academic research on UK agri-environment schemes pivot to meet the addition of climate mitigation aims?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    8. Wolz, Axel & Möllers, Judith & Micu, Marius Mihai, 2020. "Options for agricultural service cooperatives in a postsocialist economy: Evidence from Romania," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 49(1), pages 57-65.
    9. Cush Peter & Macken-Walsh Áine, 2016. "The Potential for Joint Farming Ventures in Irish Agriculture: A Sociological Review," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 8(1), pages 33-48, March.
    10. Riley, Mark & Sangster, Heather & Smith, Hugh & Chiverrell, Richard & Boyle, John, 2018. "Will farmers work together for conservation? The potential limits of farmers’ cooperation in agri-environment measures," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 635-646.

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