Where the lower reaches of the rivers Rijn, Maas and Schelde have passed through the Northwest-European plain to finally flow out into the North Sea, a unique country of towns had come about during the Late Middle Ages. Since then, due to its natural and central location, this country, the Netherlands, has turned into a true crossroads of European trade connections between east and west, north and south. A highly urbanised country emerged and as the urban economies prospered they have had a great impact on the surrounding countryside. This in turn has affected the rural communities and has stimulated all kinds of agrarian activities. Highly productive agribusiness complexes have been the result. Today experts rank Dutch agriculture and horticulture as one of the most productive in the world. Milk production per cow and arable farming and horticulture, productivity per man-hour is amongst the highest known. This book is meant to give an overview of the historical processes of five centuries of farming and it makes clear that the old farming society was only seemingly static. This account of Dutch agricultural history demonstrates how Dutch farmers and horticulturist have always been keen on resetting their aims when the ever changing economic environment induced them to do so.
Where the lower reaches of the rivers Rijn, Maas and Schelde have passed through the Northwest-European plain to finally flow out into the North Sea, a unique country of towns had come about during the Late Middle Ages. Since then, due to its natural and central location, this country, the Netherlands, has turned into a true crossroads of European trade connections between east and west, north and south. A highly urbanised country emerged and as the urban economies prospered they have had a great impact on the surrounding countryside. This in turn has affected the rural communities and has stimulated all kinds of agrarian activities. Highly productive agribusiness complexes have been the result. Today experts rank Dutch agriculture and horticulture as one of the most productive in the world. Milk production per cow and arable farming and horticulture, productivity per man-hour is amongst the highest known. This book is meant to give an overview of the historical processes of five centuries of farming and it makes clear that the old farming society was only seemingly static. This account of Dutch agricultural history demonstrates how Dutch farmers and horticulturist have always been keen on resetting their aims when the ever changing economic environment induced them to do so.
A major feat of research and synthesis, this book presents the first comprehensive history of the Dutch economy in the nineteenth century--an important but poorly understood piece of European economic history. Based on a detailed reconstruction of extensive economic data, the authors account for demise of the Dutch economy's golden age. After showing how institutional factors combined to make the Dutch economy a victim of its own success, the book traces its subsequent emergence as a modern industrial economy. Between 1780 and 1914, the Netherlands went through a double transition. Its economy--which, in the words of Adam Smith, was approaching a "stationary state" in the eighteenth century--entered a process of modern economic growth during the middle decades of the nineteenth. At the same time, the country's sociopolitical structure was undergoing radical transformation as the decentralized polity of the republic gave way to a unitary state. As the authors show, the dramatic transformation of the Dutch political structure was intertwined with equally radical changes in the institutional structure of the economy. The outcome of this dual transition was a rapidly industrializing economy on one side and, on the other, the neocorporatist sociopolitical structure that would characterize the Netherlands in the twentieth century. Analyzing both processes with a focus on institutional change, this book argues that the economic and political development of the Netherlands can be understood only in tandem.
This open access book examines more than two centuries of societal development using novel historical and statistical approaches. It applies the well-being monitor developed by Statistics Netherlands that has been endorsed by a significant part of the international, statistical community. It features The Netherlands as a case study, which is an especially interesting example; although it was one of the world’s richest countries around 1850, extreme poverty and inequality were significant problems of well-being at the time. Monitors of 1850, 1910, 1970 and 2015 depict the changes in three dimensions of well-being: the quality of life 'here and now', 'later' and 'elsewhere'. The analysis of two centuries shows the solutions to the extreme poverty problem and the appearance of new sustainability problems, especially in domestic and foreign ecological systems. The study also reveals the importance of natural capital: soil, air, water and subsoil resources, showing their relation with the social structure of the ‘here and now ́. Treatment and trade of natural resources also impacted on the quality of life ‘later’ and ‘elsewhere.’ Further, the book illustrates the role of natural capital by dividing the capital into three types of raw materials and concomitant material flows: bio-raw materials, mineral and fossil subsoil resources. Additionally, the analysis of the institutional context identifies the key roles of social groups in well-being development. The book ends with an assessment of the solutions and barriers offered by the historical anchoring of the well-being and sustainability issues. This unique analysis of well-being and sustainability and its institutional analysis appeals to historians, statisticians and policy makers.
Over the past few decades, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental risks which have come along with the progress achieved through a variety of mutually intertwined modernization processes. In recent years these concerns are transformed into a widely-shared sense of urgency, partly due to events such as the various pandemics threatening livestock, and increasing awareness of the risks and realities of climate change, and the energy and food crises. This sense of urgency includes an awareness that our entire social system is in need of fundamental transformation. But like the earlier transition between the 1750's and 1890's from a pre-modern to a modern industrial society, this second transition is also a contested one. Sustainable development is only one of many options. This book addresses the issue on how to understand the dynamics and governance of the second transition dynamics in order to ensure sustainable development. It will be necessary reading for students and scholars with an interest in sustainable development and long-term transformative change.
This book explores the position, role and significance of the peasantry in an era of globalization, particularly of the agrarian markets and food industries. It argues that the peasant condition is characterized by a struggle for autonomy that finds expression in the creation and development of a self-governed resource base and associated forms of sustainable development. In this respect the peasant mode of farming fundamentally differs from entrepreneurial and corporate ways of farming. The author demonstrates that the peasantries are far from waning. Instead, both industrialized and developing countries are witnessing complex and richly chequered processes of 're-peasantization', with peasants now numbering over a billion worldwide. The author's arguments are based on three longitudinal studies (in Peru, Italy and The Netherlands) that span 30 years and provide original and thought-provoking insights into rural and agrarian development processes. The book combines and integrates different bodies of literature: the rich traditions of peasant studies, development sociology, rural sociology, neo-institutional economics and the recently emerging debates on Empire.
This book provides a detailed and comprehensive introduction to the concepts and methods of the sociology of farming. The sociology of farming focuses on co-production: the ongoing interaction and mutual transformation of the natural and the social (of ‘human and living nature’) which requires putting the farm labour process centre stage. While there are many books which discuss food and agriculture, this book is different: it delves into the methods and concepts used and presents a comprehensive conceptual framework and the associated methods for research to give students and researchers of agriculture and rural studies a solid set of tools for unravelling the complexities of farming and rural life. Importantly, these tools also empower us to design new ways forward. A wide array of case studies, as wide-ranging as Brazil, Peru, China, the Netherlands, Italy and Guinea Bissau, help readers to grasp the commonalities that underlie strongly diversified and divided rural worlds. The book lists over two hundred basic concepts and includes boxes that discuss the main methods of the sociology of farming. This textbook is essential reading for students and scholars of food and agriculture, agrarian studies, rural development, food and farming systems, peasant studies and environmental sociology.
The first truly global history of work, an upbeat assessment from the age of the hunter-gatherer to the present day "Beginning in the hunting-and-gathering past, this long view of work shows how little has changed over millennia. Progressing through the rise of cities, wages and markets for labour, it traces a perennial cycle of injustice and resistance--and the age-old desire for more."--The Economist, "Best Books of 2021" "Absolutely fascinating. . . . Lucassen's own compassion shines through this magisterial book."--Christina Patterson, The Guardian We work because we have to, but also because we like it: from hunting-gathering more than 700,000 years ago to the present era of zoom meetings, humans have always worked to make the world around them serve their needs. Jan Lucassen provides an inclusive history of humanity's busy labor throughout the ages. Spanning China, India, Africa, the Americas, and Europe, Lucassen looks at the ways in which humanity organizes work: in the household, the tribe, the city, and the state. He examines how labor is split between men, women, and children; the watershed moment of the invention of money; the collective action of workers; and the impact of migration, slavery, and the idea of leisure. From peasant farmers in the first agrarian societies to the precarious existence of today's gig workers, this surprising account of both cooperation and subordination at work throws essential light on the opportunities we face today.
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