Moral perception of the economy and wealth in peasants? worldview

LANDINI, F.

Rural Society Journal

Centre for Rural Social Research, Charles Sturt University

Año: 2012 vol. 21 p. 219 - 230

1037-1656

The peasant economic rationale differs profoundly from that which characterizes market capitalism. Amongst the many differences between the two is the peasants? tendency to interpret economic processes in moral terms and to judge them in the context of communal, hierarchical relationships. This article?s proposal is to present the results of an investigation carried out in Argentina, dedicated to understanding peasants? worldview. Some significant findings are peasants? tendency to: associate wealth with a moral deficit, interpret the commercialization processes of their harvest in terms of expropriation and to affirm the right of all people to live in a dignified manner, a view which presupposes that those who have more wealth lend assistance to those in need.