| The aim of my project is to demonstrate that the principle of self-sufficiency is foundational to the understanding of both Aristotle's political economy and political agrarianism, and thus they ought be seen as compatible in their outlook on economic activity.;I begin with an interpretation of Aristotle's political economy and argue that the principle of self-sufficiency is central to any adequate interpretation of it. In addition, I discuss how in the secondary literature a quarrel between agrarian republics and commercial ones has surfaced in regard to the understanding of his political economy. I claim that Aristotle is neither an agrarian nor does he favor commerce over the agrarian way of life, but rather he is better perceived as a moderate friend of political agrarianism, as he seems to prefer agrarianism over the merchant's commercial way of life. Given that the common opinion of the virtuous, self-sufficient farmer originated in ancient Greece, I also demonstrate the genesis and basis of this opinion in the work of Hesiod, Aristophanes, and Xenophon.;In the second part of my dissertation, I focus on how the English and American agrarian social critics of the twentieth century have invoked the principle of self-sufficiency in response to industrial capitalism and the global economy. My intent is to show how this principle shapes their outlook regarding economic activity and is foundational to their way of life. My task is not to argue that agrarianism is better than commercialism, but rather I simply want to demonstrate how and when the principle of self-sufficiency is invoked among agrarians, as this principle makes their political economy compatible with Aristotle's. And it is principally among the Catholic English Distributists (G. K. Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, and Father Vincent McNabb) and the American agrarians (Wendell Berry and Victor Davis Hanson) that the principle of self-sufficiency is invoked regarding political and economic matters. |
