ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the merits of the Goldschmidt hypothesis for the 1990s by reviewing farm and community research of the past decade. The domain assumption guiding most commentary and academic research on the relationship between the farm sector and rural communities was that the financial fortunes of farms were the primary factor determining rural community economic and social well-being. Rural communities nestled in regions characterized by preindustrial production tended to be self-contained production-consumption units. The development of a transportation infrastructure necessary for efficient regional and national markets meant that non-commercial farm communities were able to be transformed into commercial farm trade centers. Divisions in social class became more apparent as commercial and production relationships gained in importance for personal, family, and community persistence. The dimension of the great change in farm and community relations is the decoupling of the economic and social well-being of rural communities from the fortunes of the farming hinterland.
