8 FLIGHT FROM THE CITY 



selves enough of the essentials of living to free us 

 from the thralldom of our factory-dominated civili- 

 zation. 



What are the social, economic, political, and philo- 

 sophical implications of such a type of living? What 

 would be the consequence of a widespread transfer- 

 ence of production from factories to the home? 



If enough families were to make their homes eco- 

 nomically productive, cash-crop farmers specializing 

 in one crop would have to abandon farming as a busi- 

 ness and go back to it as a way of life. The packing- 

 houses, mills, and canneries, not to mention the rail- 

 roads, wholesalers, and retailers, which now distribute 

 agricultural products would find their business con- 

 fined to the production and distribution of exotic 

 foodstuffs. Food is our most important industry. A 

 war of attrition, such as we have been carrying on all 

 alone, if extended on a large enough scale, would put 

 the food industry out of its misery, for miserable it 

 certainly is, all the way from the farmers who produce 

 the raw materials to the men, women, and children 

 who toil in the canneries, mills, and packing- towns, 

 and in addition reduce proportionately the conges- 

 tion, adulteration, unemployment, and unpleasant 

 odors to all of which the food industry contributes 

 liberally. 



If enough families were to make their homes eco- 

 nomically productive, the textile and clothing indus- 

 tries, with their low wages, seasonal unemployment, 



