Rural Politics

Since the election of Scott Walker, Wisconsin has been seen as ground zero for debates about the appropriate role of government in the wake of the Great Recession. In a time of rising inequality, Walker not only survived a bitterly contested recall that brought thousands of protesters to Capitol Square, he was subsequently reelected. How could this happen? How is it that the very people who stand to benefit from strong government services not only vote against the candidates who support those services but are vehemently against the very idea of big government?

Between 1821 and 1826, the prolific writer and journalist William Cobbett travelled the countryside of the South of England on foot and horseback. Rural Rides is a fascinating account of his journeys, and depicts a way of life in transition, juxtaposing lyrical descriptions of the countryside with criticism of the poverty of agricultural workers. A man of radical politics who encouraged the rural rising of 1830, Cobbett went on to become MP for Oldham and sought to represent the interests of both industrial and agricultural workers. Above all, Rural Rides celebrates agrarian England.

Sense pràcticament adonar-nos-en, vam desconnectar de la vida rural amb l'assumpció de no tornar-hi més. Amb el temps, ens hem obstinat a generar un debat que ha confrontat la ruralitat i la urbanitat en uns termes molt simplistes: hem associat el camp i les muntanyes a unes pràctiques antigues marcades per la precarietat i l'aïllament, i les ciutats a la modernitat, al benestar i a la comoditat, que ha exterminat, però tot allò que ha considerat antic, inservible, lent i caduc.