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Synopsis This book presents an account of an intellectual breakthrough in the study of rural society and agriculture. Its ten chapters, selected for their originality, encompass various disciplines, diverse historical periods and several regions of the world. The ten studies recast and expand what is known about rural society and agrarian issues, examining such topics as poverty, subsistence, cultivation, ecology, justice art, custom, law, ritual life, cooperation, and state action. Each contribution provides a point of departure for new study, encouraging deeper thinking across disciplinary boundaries and frontiers. The contributors include Paul Greenough, David Arnold, David Ludden and Herman Daly. Their fresh analyses will broaden the perspectives of readers with interests as wide-ranging as rural sociology, environmentalism, political science, history, anthropology, economics, and art history.