An excess farm population and the loss of farm wealth

Every problem chosen for analysis by an individual working within the limits set by a particular discipline has certain facets which transcend the limits set by a particular discipline has certain facets which transcend the limits of this discipline regardless of the generality by which this discipline is defined. These aspects of the problem are either ignored as irrelevant, not recognized at all, or they may be recognised but not analyzed within the framework of a particular study. But the fact that these other aspects do exist should not deter one from analyzing one aspect of the problem from a rather particularized viewpoint. This is merely a recognition of the fact that human experiences are interrelated and one particular aspect of the human experience is never completely isolated from all other human experiences except in the process of scientific investigation where this is often required in order to work with human experiences at all.

In this thesis we shall attempt to analyze the phenomenon of an excess farm population. The analysis will be built around the following proposition: As a result of annually rearing a population in excess of that number which can be profitably employed in agriculture, farm people experience a tremendous net drain of rurally created wealth. To be sure, there are many consequences of great significance to farm people and to nonfarm people as a result of this experience. As we have already implied, some will be analyzed in considerable detail, some will be recognized but left unanalyzed, and still others will be ignored. We shall be dealing, then, with some of the expected consequences of an excess farm population.