What Is Agrarianism?
Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy that advocates for rural development, a rural agricultural lifestyle, family farming, widespread property ownership, and political decentralization. Part of the Green family.
Definition
Agrarianism is a social and political philosophy that advocates for rural development, a rural agricultural lifestyle, family farming, widespread property ownership, and political decentralization.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Agrarianism (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Small farms and rural communities.
- Self-reliance and connection to the land.
- Suspicion of industrial and urban power.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Thomas Jefferson, Wendell Berry
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Agrarianism sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 58 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 73 | toward traditional | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 26 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 74 | toward nationalist | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 11 | strongly toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 66 | toward private ownership |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 33 | toward civil liberty |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 74 | toward nationalist |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 80 | toward traditionalist |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 20 | toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 51 | near the center |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 53 | near the center |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 11 | strongly toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 55 | near the center |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| A national religious authority should have the power to veto legislation. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Central economic planning is preferable to decentralized market decisions. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| National borders should become less important over time. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Traditional values should guide what society considers right and wrong. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Differences in social status help maintain an orderly society. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Cultural Nationalism, Agrarianism sits 16 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
- Compared with Agrarian Conservatism, Agrarianism sits 13 points further toward progressive on the social dimension.
- Compared with Localism, Agrarianism sits 15 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Agrarianism.
Sources
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.