Farming Societies - Essay Example

The first thing that any anthropologist would think of when the word society is mentioned is a group of people with a common bond, territory, or culture. According to Walrath and Prins, anthropologists study economic systems by analyzing the means, by which goods are produced, distributed, and consumed in a certain society (39). For instance, in this case, a farming society. They use concepts and theories from economists although many anthropologists are aware that principles from capitalist markets study are limited in applicability to societies that are not industrialized. In non-industrialized economics, goods are not produced and exchanged for personal profit. In simple farming societies, economic activities are not separated from religious, political, and social aspects (Walrath and Prins 51). The economic system of a farming society largely depends on the production, distribution, and consumption of goods. However, there are many types of economic systems which include: traditional and modern, industrial and non-industrial, and small-scale and large-scale economies.

In the small-scale societies that are non-industrial, land and other valuable resources are usually controlled by groups of related people and individual ownership of land is rare to find. The division of labor is done according to the gender and age of the members of the society. Simple farming societies also practice specialization of arts and crafts, although, production is carried out only for the quantity required at that moment. Most of the goods produced are consumed by those in the group that produces them. This is different from the economic organization of large scale industrial and post-industrial societies (Walrath and Prins 59). Large-scale societies are characterized by a complex division of labor, individuals and corporations owned lalarge-scalend, producers do not know who the consumers are and vice versa and transactions take place by exchange of goods for money.

The elements of a simple farming society’s economy are production, distribution, and consumption. These elements are highly dependent on the factors of production which include land and labor. For instance, in a simple farming society exchange of goods and services is down for roughly equivalent measures and values. The exchange of goods and services is also done as a ritual or for prestige purposes (Walrath and Prins 86). This is where the distribution of goods is done by the governments or the religious elite who collect and allocate resources. Locations of exchange of goods and services are designated in certain areas. Here, people meet friends and strangers, find entertainment, and trade goods. However, in industrial societies, the exchange is indirect, impersonal, and mediated through money or capital assets in the form of shares and stocks. Moreover, in the digital age, trade can be conducted on the internet with personal contact.

The major characteristic among farming societies is Cooperative work groups regardless of the society’s industrial capability. For instance, in cases the work group involves the whole community a festive mood permeates the work. In most societies, cooperation basically starts at the household level. Through cooperation, farming societies are able to allocate duties of production and distribution, as well as, allocation of goods and resources. There is great diversity in the types of specialized tasks that are performed. However, although specialization has increased in farming societies, modern technologies have influenced them such that the division of labor on the basis of gender has become less relevant. In modern farming societies, each member is knowledgeable on all aspects of work although specialization is still maintained (Walrath and Prins 43).

According to Walrath and Prins, Simple farming societies are firmly rooted in the cultures of people in their communities (101). This culture is passed on from the older generation to the younger generation. By doing this, the younger members of the farming society become part and parcel of the farming society. The new members develop self-awareness such that they are able to judge their own actions according to the ways and beliefs of society. The behavioral environment in which a member of the society is able to perceive and get oriented to their surrounding is specified by the culture. This influences the personality of individuals. This is because each individual begins with great potentials that are inherited. In some cultures, there are particular child-rearing practices that promote the development of complaint personalities while in other cultures different practices promote independent and self release-reliant personalities.

Therefore the young behave according to their cultures. The whole farming society is aware of the expectations of their culture and traditional practices. Every culture emphasizes certain personal traits to be good or bad. Each culture, therefore, has its own distinct methods of discouraging and encouraging such traits. Nonetheless, cultures and societies cannot be characterized in terms of specific personalities among them. This is because every human society has a range of different individual personalities although some are rather more typical than others. The young people must therefore behave according to the expectations and teachings in their society (Walrath and Prins 114).

In conclusion, farming is considered an old and traditional practice by many. However, farming societies still exist in the modern world. In most developing countries, communities still produce goods on a small scale and subsistence farming for personal consumption with no intention of gaining profit from them. This is contrary to the organized large-scale production that is practiced more in developed countries and less in developing nations. However, this does not mean that simple farming societies focus only on food crops and do not grow cash crops. The only difference is that simple farming societies have fewer members who own small pieces of land and produce fewer products as compared to the larger societies.