I've had some discussions with some people not on this list about this article. There appears to be some disagreement about how accurate the article is in regard to Jews NOT farming. I would like to see some statistics but have too many other things that I"m enjoying right now to spend any time on it.
Selma ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2003 10:27 AM Subject: Re: [Futurework] Fw: Why Jews Don't Farm > Selma, > > Interesting article. The lack of expanding numbers is also the case for > Quakers. Except for one tribe in Kenya [the Luo], Quakers have tended not > to proselytize which, [my impression is] that that is the case for Jews. > > What is interesting, also, is that the Amish and Mennonites [the other > two of the three Peace Churches] that came out of Europe are avid and > very successful farmers. The Amish have incomes higher than the average > American and do not rely on electrical power in the main. > > Does anyone have any ideas on this? > > Bill > > > On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 08:05:09 -0400 "Selma Singer" > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > > Given the discussion on this list about Jews being smart or > > otherwise, I > > thought this might be of interest. > > > > Selma > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 8:19 PM > > Subject: Why Jews Don't Farm > > > > > > http://slate.msn.com/id/2084352/ > > > > SLATE > > By Steven E. Landsburg > > June 13, 2003 > > > > In the 1890s, my Eastern European Jewish ancestors emigrated to an > > American Jewish farming community in Woodbine, N.J., where the > > millionaire > > philanthropist Baron de Hirsch provided land, tools, and training at > > the > > nation's first agricultural college. [Correction, June 16, 2003: The > > Baron > > De Hirsch Agricultural College was not the first agricultural > > college in > > the United States.] But within a generation, the family had settled > > in > > Philadelphia where they became accountants, tailors, merchants, and > > eventually, lawyers and college professors. > > > > De Hirsch had a vision of American Jews achieving economic > > liberation by working the land. If he'd had a better sense of > > history, he > > would have built not an agricultural college but a medical school, > > because > > for well over a millennium prior to the settlement of Woodbine, Jews > > had > > not been farmers-not in Palestine, not in the Muslim empire, not in > > Western Europe, not in Eastern Europe, not anywhere in the world. > > > > You have to go back almost 2,000 years to find a time when Jews, > > like virtually every other identifiable group, were primarily an > > agricultural people. Around A.D. 200, Jews began to quit the land. > > By the > > seventh century, Jews had left their farms in large numbers to > > become > > craftsmen, artisans, merchants, and moneylenders-the only group to > > have > > given up on agriculture. Jewish participation in farming fell to > > about 10 > > percent through most of the world; even in Palestine it was only > > about 25 > > percent. Everyone else stayed on the farms. > > > > (Even in the modern state of Israel, where agriculture has been an > > important component of the economy, it's been a peculiarly > > capital-intensive form of agriculture, one that employed well under > > a > > quarter of the population at the height of the Kibbutz movement, and > > less > > than 3 percent of the population today.) > > > > The obvious question is: Why? Why did Jews and only Jews take up > > urban occupations, and why did it happen so dramatically throughout > > the > > world? Two economic historians-Maristella Botticini (of Boston > > University > > and Universit� di Torino) and Zvi Eckstein (of Tel Aviv University > > and the > > University of Minnesota)-have recently been giving that question a > > lot of > > thought. > > > > First, say Botticini and Eckstein, the exodus from farms to towns > > was probably not a response to discrimination. It's true that in the > > Middle Ages, Jews were often prohibited from owning land. But the > > transition to urban occupations and urban living occurred long > > before > > anybody ever thought of those restrictions. In the Muslim world, > > Jews > > faced no limits on occupation, land ownership, or anything else that > > might > > have been relevant to the choice of whether to farm. Moreover, a > > prohibition on land ownership is not a prohibition on farming-other > > groups > > facing similar restrictions (such as Samaritans) went right on > > working > > other people's land. > > > > Nor, despite an influential thesis by the economic historian Simon > > Kuznets, can you explain the urbanization of the Jews as an internal > > attempt to forge and maintain a unique group identity. Samaritans > > and > > Christians maintained unique group identities without leaving the > > land. > > The Amish maintain a unique group identity to this day, and they've > > done > > it without giving up their farms. > > > > So, what's different about the Jews? First, Botticini and Eckstein > > explain why other groups didn't leave the land. The temptation was > > certainly there: Skilled urban jobs have always paid better than > > farming, > > and that's been true since the time of Christ. But those jobs > > require > > literacy, which requires education-and for hundreds of years, > > education > > was so expensive that it proved a poor investment despite those > > higher > > wages. (Botticini and Eckstein have data on ancient teachers' > > salaries to > > back this up.) So, rational economic calculus dictated that pretty > > much > > everyone should have stayed on the farms. > > > > But the Jews (like everyone else) were beholden not just to > > economic rationalism, but also to the dictates of their religion. > > And the > > Jewish religion, unique among religions of the early Middle Ages, > > imposed > > an obligation to be literate. To be a good Jew you had to read the > > Torah > > four times a week at services: twice on the Sabbath, and once every > > Monday > > and Thursday morning. And to be a good Jewish parent you had to > > educate > > your children so that they could do the same. > > > > The literacy obligation had two effects. First, it meant that Jews > > were uniquely qualified to enter higher-paying urban occupations. Of > > course, anyone else who wanted to could have gone to school and > > become a > > moneylender, but school was so expensive that it made no sense. > > Jews, who > > had to go to school for religious reasons, naturally sought to earn > > at > > least some return on their investment. Only many centuries later did > > education start to make sense economically, and by then the Jews had > > become well established in banking, trade, and so forth. > > > > The second effect of the literacy obligation was to drive a lot of > > Jews away from their religion. Botticini and Eckstein admit that > > they have > > little direct evidence for this conclusion, but there's a lot of > > indirect > > evidence. First, it makes sense: People do tend to run away from > > expensive > > obligations. Second, we can look at population trends: While the > > world > > population increased from 50 million in the sixth century to 285 > > million > > in the 18th, the population of Jews remained almost fixed at just a > > little > > over a million. Why were the Jews not expanding when everyone else > > was? We > > don't know for sure, but a reasonable guess is that a lot of Jews > > were > > becoming Christians and Muslims. > > > > So-which Jews stuck with Judaism? Presumably those with a > > particularly strong attachment to their religion and/or a > > particularly > > strong attachment to education for education's sake. (The burden of > > acquiring an education is, after all, less of a burden for those who > > enjoy > > being educated.) The result: Over time, you're left with a > > population of > > people who enjoy education, are required by their religion to be > > educated, > > and are particularly attached to their religion. Naturally, these > > people > > tend to become educated. And once they're educated, they leave the > > farms. > > > > Of course there are always exceptions. My great-grandfather raised > > chickens. But he did it in the basement of his row house in north > > Philadelphia. > > > > [Correction, June 16, 2003: The Baron De Hirsch Agricultural College > > was > > not the first agricultural college in the United States. At the time > > the > > college opened in 1894, there were dozens of agricultural colleges > > in the > > United States. Most were established through the 1862 Morrill Act, > > which > > had given states land grants to fund public agricultural and > > mechanical > > colleges.] > > > > > > Steven E. Landsburg is the author, most recently, of Fair Play: What > > Your > > Child Can Teach You About Economics, Values, and the Meaning of > > Life. You > > can e-mail him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > uturework mailing list > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > > > ________________________________________________________________ > The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! > Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
