Rural Society: Pre-War and Post-War

Abstract

Rural societies are very complex things, much more intricate than most town dwellers are aware. If it is true that industrialisation produces a greater degree of uniformity in society, then it is difficult at present to see this process at work within the countryside. The long-term trend may be towards a rather simpler and more uniform sort of structure such as one finds in the rural areas of New Zealand or in parts of rural America, but in Europe during the past two decades the farm community as well as the non-farm community has experienced a remarkable diversification of its socio-economic structure.