Since the beginning of this century, the social and economic fabric of farming life has dramatically altered. One hundred years ago, the conservative, ignorant, individualistic peasant, sunk in the obscurity of generations of mud and toil, was a powerful part of political, artistic and literary mythology. Such images remain far more mythical and illusory now than was ever the case a century ago. But if technical changes – the mechanisation of arable and pastoral farming or the drive for ever greater production and productivity – have been the most visible aspect of the transformation of rural France, the spread of new forms of cooperation and association has been no less important. In these changing patterns of social, cultural and economic solidarity, endlessly reshaping the social fabric of farming, lie many of the explanations of the origins, character and future direction of agricultural change.

Associations and the farming community

Images of individualism and isolation in rural France are undoubtedly at odds with the range of associations that, at various times, have received widespread support from the farming community. How then were these groups created? Central to this book has been an emphasis on the importance of local and regional traditions and on the political context within which farming issues were formulated. Without an appreciation of this context, many associations appear simply utilitarian in character and limited in their social impact. Throughout their history political forces have been a major influence, shaping the development of syndicates, cooperatives and mutuals in the countryside.