The Natural Family Where It Belongs: New Agrarian Essays by Allan C. Carlson

The Natural Family Where It Belongs: New Agrarian Essays Reviews

• 
  Vance Woods

  Before someone sees this rating and assumes I've degenerated into a chauvinist pig, a little clarification: this is one of the best books I've ever read with which I disagree to a very large extent. In spite of fairly violent differences with the author's argument regarding feminism and the place of the woman, his desire for a return to a simpler way of life, family and soil, resonates with me as the descendant of a century's worth of Missouri farm stock.
  
  Even when dealing with the thorny issue of feminism and its fate (thorny for a male writer, pretty much regardless of his conclusions, just by virtue of his gender), Carlson makes several good points. And, having said that, the issue has become thorny for me as well. While in places, the rhetoric is downright insulting (e.g., "Women cannot successfully raise children on their own" [p.129]), he does indicate several areas in which the movement doubles back on itself, as in the case of breastfeeding and its ineluctable ties to gender differences, which makes it less than popular with those Carlson calls "equity feminists." (This argument comes, by the way, not from Carlson himself, but from a 1997 article by Dr. Judith Galtry in the journal Feminist Economics.) Men do have constructive things to say about feminist issues; unfortunately, Carlson's next-to-last chapter, on the inevitability and desirability of patriarchal social arrangements, counteracts his perceptiveness with a healthy dose of condescension and sarcasm.
  
  As much as I relate to the author's agrarian thought, though, the book as a whole is undone really even before the regular pagination kicks in, in the "introduction" on the theory of the "natural family" and its place as the basis of the "natural society". The disturbing aspects of this essay are in what he almost says, but not quite. For instance, in defining the right of citizenship, Carlson tacks on a fairly vague (and ominous) qualifier: "acceptance by one's neighbors" (xx). This seems to prescribe a level of conformity and arbitrariness at which even the most conservative among us might balk. Further, the author argues that the success of a nation, insofar as it succeeds on grounds of cooperation, depends on shared characteristics like religious belief, language, and (most disturbingly) blood. While it may not have been his intention, it is very difficult to read this section and not notice any racist undertones. What is more, in the melting pot that is the United States, it is not terribly constructive to suggest that differences mean perennial failure (even if, at times, it is hard to look at our lack of communication skills of the last few years, and envision any level of cooperative success). Simply put, with an introduction like this, who needs the rest of the book?
  
  Carlson's book is very disturbing. But it is also very well written, and if the reader is willing to wade through the objectionable and listen for the perceptive, there is a deal of value to what he has to say. I loved this book, and I hated this book. As such, it underscores the importance of engaging opposing views and learning to really hear what others are saying. As it turns out, it is possible to disagree with someone, and learn from them at the same time.
  
  
• 
  Jun

  This is quite the collection of delectably provocative and edifying essays culminating masterfully in an unearthing of History from the ideological retellings of our day. For us moderns, an encounter with Mr. Carlson's writing is bound to test.
  
  [On the slim chance that the publishing team reads this review: Could you please change the cover design and subtitle? It disservices the content therein. Thank you.]
• 
  Cameron M

  Allan Carlson knocked this book out of the park. This is easily one of the greater books I have read to be honest. This was also the first book I had read on agrarianism mixed with economics, so I wasn't completely sure what to expect.
  A good friend of mine recommended this book to me, so I was able to get it from a local library. That good friend and I are very of the agrarian mindset, i.e. we love the thought of patriarchal family farms propelling self sufficiency. When he said he'd heard about this book, I was immediately looking for it and luckily I found it.
  When I first began reading the book, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. This was the first book I had read by Allan C. Carlson, so I was green around the ears to his writing.
  I will say that this book is very well written and highly intellectual (as the other reviewers have mentioned) and even philosophical at some points. Regardless, I was highly interested for the duration of the book.
  Carlson provides plenty of studies, references, and sound evidence of his writing and I couldn't be in more agreement of his opinions. My impression was that this book focused heavily on the agrarian small family farm as the center of the work, but I think the straying away of the family farm and self sufficiency is very much a spiritual problem leading into secularism. The return of the small family farm and the father as the head-of-household is what should happen indeed. Carlson provides all of the evidence for it and you can look it all up yourself to verify. It's out there and it's legitimate.
  This was all very eye opening to me because I hadn't ever looked into agrarianism seriously before reading this book and it has reinforced what seems natural and innate in us as humans. I hadn't ever taken the initiative to look into what the numbers were behind the act of radical feminism and the charge to remove natural and patriarchal masculinity. It's fascinating and everything in here is so well supported and it's foundational; it makes sense on an innate level. In no way is this book anti feminist, hateful, any sort of bigotry, etc... This is a solid, referenced, and a spectacular book full of wisdom.
  As a reviewer said, this book is very well written and if you disagree with it, surely you will respect it's intellect and wisdom and find yourself having several "ahah!" moments while reading it. This book has motivated my wife and I to further investigate our own future making the agrarian lifestyle our own.
• 
  Matt Carpenter

  This is a good sampling of Dr. Carlson's work. It includes brief biographies, sociological research on the family, and historical overviews. It (as is normal for Dr. Carlson) is short on application, but does give hope for the future of the family.