Comments on: Sustainability, localism, community and the dignity of work: In praise of Wendell Berry

By: Scholars and Rogues » Book review: The past and future of work

Scholars and Rogues » Book review: The past and future of work — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:05:47 +0000

[...] book reviews have generally been enthusiastic as well, as if Crawford wasn’t mining the same vein Wendell Berry has been mining for the past forty years or so. Clearly, it has to be said, Crawford’s academic [...]

By: Lucky Jean

Lucky Jean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:23:26 +0000

It’s amazing how few writers look at politics or the environment through the eyes of a farmer. Thanks, Wendell.
Nice to read this article after spending my day cutting weeds and planting pineapples and eating homegrown bananas.

By: CWMackowski

CWMackowski — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:15:56 +0000

I wasn’t familiar with Berry’s work, so that’s for calling him to our attention, wufnik.

By: Lex

Lex — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:36:38 +0000

Thanks, wufnik, it was a well-crafted tribute to a great American who’s terribly under appreciated.

The political left ignores Berry for the same reason that the Reagan conservatives hate him: he actually speaks to the common man. He never seems to call for rising up so much as simply doing what’s right. That’s dangerous to the political class. Why the rest of the left ignores him is beyond me. Maybe it’s because many of the people pushing the issues from the left are affluent(ish), urban activists and Berry’s too plain spoken (eloquent, but plain). He also runs afoul of much of the movement because he’s all for farming animals…or perennial grasses as the case may be.

He’s too far to the right for most American leftists and too far to the left for most American rightists, but for me he’s about right (as in correct). I should go back and look again, maybe he has the key to developing libertarian-socialism.

Thanks, man

By: wufnik

wufnik — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:53:14 +0000

Do so. He’s not just a vitally important thinker–he’s a fine writer too. His novels are a pleasure to read, especially A Place on Earth. He’s honed his craft well.

And go to your library!

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:01:15 +0000

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By: Dr. Slammy

Dr. Slammy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:37:55 +0000

I need to pick up some of Berry’s books, I guess. This all seems very much in line with Affluenza, which I read recently. It made me hate just about everything, including the economic structure of my own life.

Great piece….

By: Dr. Denny

Dr. Denny — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:50:57 +0000

Masterful, wuf. Thanks.

I was a journalist in a rural New England county during the ’70s and ’80s. I witnessed and wrote about the social and physical erosion of the local farm economy. Now that county is little more than a bedroom to a large university.

Tourist-friendly farmers’ markets on a Saturday morning do not by themselves a healthy, local community make.