The Folk-Urban Continuum and the Rural Proletarian Community

Author(s): Sidney W. Mintz

Reviewed work(s):
Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 59, No. 2 (Sep., 1953), pp. 136-143
Published by: The University of Chicago Press
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 THE FOLK-URBAN CONTINUUM AND THE
RURAL PROLETARIAN COMMUNITY'
SIDNEY W. MINTZ

ABSTRACT
The folk-urban constructmay not sufficeto deal withcertaincommunitytypes,such as that associated
with the modernplantation.Redfield'sstudiesin Yucatan ignoredthe plantationcommunities,although
henequen plantationsare fundamentalto Yucatan's place in the worldeconomy.Studies of Puerto Rican
sugar-caneproductionsuggestthat communitiesof this kind are neither"folk" nor "urban" but rather
distinctiveformsof socioculturalreorganization.The formulationof a "plantation type" would make
possible predictionsabout the socioculturaleffectsof a particularkind of agriculturalorganization.The
type could be constructedinductivelyand testedin fieldsituations.Typologiesoughtnot be discardedbut
shouldbe based on emDiricalobservationand refinedas necessary.

It is twenty-twoyearssincethepublica- ratedin time,the continuumwouldrepre-

tionof RobertRedfield'sfirstworkdealing sent the courseof history.But, since they
with the "folk society."2Since that time are ideal types,actualhistoryis notviewed
Redfieldhas elaboratedtheconceptconsid- as an essentialof theconstruct.
erably,3 his studentshave used it as a theo- Redfieldstatesthatit was his aim
reticaljumping-off place in theirresearch,4 to seek throughthis methodof comparisonof
and a bodyofarticlesand studies,criticalof differently affectedcommunitiessome general
theconcept,has accumulated.5 knowledgeas to the natureof societyand of
The folk-urban conceptis by nowso well its changes.... [The] conclusionsare generali-
knownthatthereis littleneedto reviewits zationson manyparticularfacts.The assertions
premiseshereotherthanmostbriefly. Folk are "on the whole" true. To reach these con-
to reportthehistory
societyand urbansocietyare conceivedof clusionsit is not necessary
of any one of the communities:they may be
as polaritiesat oppositeends of a continu- comparedas if they all existed at the same
um. Were thesepolaritiesviewedas sepa- momentof time.'
1 The writer is indebted to John V. Murra,
As Minerand Fosterhave recently point-
JulianH. Steward,Elman R. Service,and Eric R.
Wolfformuchof the thinkingand discussionwhich ed out,7thefolksocietyand theurbansocie-
led to this article. The writeralone is responsible tyhavea veryabstractrelationship to social
forthisparticularformulation. reality,sinceeach is a synthetic
compound
2 R. Redfield,Tepoztlan(Chicago: Universityof
6 N. Gross, "Cultural Variables in Rural Com-
Chicago Press,1930). munities," American Journal of Sociology, LIV
3R. Redfield,"The Folk Society and Culture," (March, 1948),348-50; M. Herskovits,Man and His
in ElevenTwenty-six, ed. L. Wirth(Chicago: Univer- Works (New York: Knopf, 1947), pp. 604-7; 0.
sity of Chicago Press, 1940); "Culture Changes in Lewis, Life in a Mexican Village: Tepostlan Re-
Yucatan," AmericanAnthropologist, XXXVI, No. 1 studied(Urbana: Universityof Illinois Press, 1951),
(1934), 57-59; The Folk Cultureof Yucatan (Chi- pp. 432-40; J. Steward,Area Research:Conceptsand
cago: Universityof Chicago Press,1941); "The Folk Methods(New York: Social Science Research Coun-
Society,"AmericanJournalofSociology,LII (Janu- cil, 1950), pp. 111 and 113; S. Tax, "WorldView and
ary, 1947), 292-308; A Village That ChoseProgress Social Relations in Guatemala," AmericanAnthro-
(Chicago: Universityof Chicago Press, 1950). pologist,XLIII, No. 1 (1941), 22-42; H. Miner,
"The Folk-UrbanContinuum,"AmericanSociolog-
4E. Spicer,Pascua: A Yaqui Villagein Arizona
ical Review,XVII, No.5 (October,1952), 529-37; G.
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1940);
Foster,"What Is Folk Culture?"AmericanAnthro-
H. Miner, St. Denis: A French-CanadianParish
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1939); pologist,LV, No. 1 (1953), 159-73.
6 The Folk Cultureof Yucatan,p. 342.
J. de la Fuente, Yalalag: Una villa ZapotecaSerrana
(Mexico: Museo Nacional de Antropologfa,1949); 7 "The Folk-UrbanContinuum,"op. cit.,p. 529;
etc. "What Is Folk Culture?"op. cit.,pp. 160-62.
136
 FOLK-URBAN CONTINUUM AND RURAL PROLETARIAN COMMUNITY 137

of characteristics liftedout of real social ofanother.Tax, forinstance, has describeda

situations.Redfielddoes not maintainthat folklikesocial situation for Guatemala,
eithertheidealfolkor theidealurbansocie- whereindividualization and commercialism
ty can actuallybe foundanywherein the arewelladvanced.'0Spicerhas studiedwhat
world.His conceptionofideal typeis one in he and Redfieldregardas a folklikesociety
whichthetypeis nota reduction ofthepar- existingon the verymarginsof an urban
ticularcharacteristics of manysocietiesto center,and featuresofboththefolkand ur-
thosefeatureswhichtheysharein common ban typesare presentin curiousjuxtaposi-
and whichtogether mightmakefora neces- tion."
sary and sufficient descriptionof the type Criticismofthefolk-urban construct has
wherever it is found;rather,it consistsofan come from many social theorists.Her-
enumeration of as manycharacteristics as skovits,in his criticaldistinction between
can be abstractedfromanynumberofsocie- formand process,'2 attacksRedfield'sselec-
ties, preconceivedto be folklike,put to- tionofa seriesofunitcharacteristics which
getherto formthetype. may or may not traveltogetherand which
The folksocietyis markedby isolation; failto fitsomespecificculturalsituations.
a highdegreeofgeneticand culturalhomo- The mostdetailedcriticismof the folk-
geneity;slow culturechange; preliteracy; urbanconstruct has comefromLewis,who
small numbers;minimaldivisionof labor; restudiedTepoztlan some twentyyears
simpletechnology (witheveryindividuala afterRedfield'soriginalwork there.'3Al-
primaryproducer),greatfunctionalcoher- thoughLewis' six pointsof criticism'4 are
ence(so thateveryact tendstobe relatedto clearand useful,hismostimportant critical
everyother,and thecultureshowsan almost contribution in thepresentwriter'sopinion,
organicqualityin theinterdependence ofits comesin his over-allemphasison thevalue
materialsand thebehaviorofthosewholive ofcarefulhistorical researchin thestudyof
by it); social organizationbased on blood culturechange. Redfieldhas never ques-
and fictivekinship;behaviorwhichis tradi- tionedthe value of such researchbut has
tionaland uncritical; a tendencyto viewthe soughtin hisanalysisto getat thenatureof
inanimateand nonhumanworldpersonally; socialchangewithoutreference to historical
theviewingoftraditional objectsand actsas particulars.
sacred; the pervasiveimportanceof magic It is importantto notethatfewof Red-
and religionand, thus,resultingritualbe- field'scriticshave beenwillingto accepthis
haviorin all areasoflife;and theabsenceof primaryemphasison culturetypes as an
econiomic motiveswhichfail to fitin with, entreeto thestudyofculturechangeand to
and conform to, all otheraspectsoflife.8 seekto sharpenthismethodological toolby
Minerhas pointedout thatRedfieldde- a refinement ofthetypological systemitself.
finesurbansocietyprimarily as the absence Rather,theemphasisseemsto have been to
or oppositeof thesecharacteristics.9 Red- discardtypological systemsin general,along
fielddescribesthreeprincipalprocessesof withtheparticularfolk-urban formulation.
changefromfolkto urban: secularization, The purposeofthepresentarticleis to sug-
individualization, and disorganization. To gest that typologicalcharacterizations can
whatdegreetheseprocessesare interrelated prove usefulin social science theoryand
has notbeenmade clear,althoughRedfield methodology, even thoughthe type to be
has welcomedthe workof thosewho have describedsuggeststhe limitationsof the
soughtto showin variouscases thatchange
ofone kindmaytakeplace withoutchange l0Op. cit.,pp. 22-42.
8 Redfield, "The Folk Society," op. cit., pp. 11op. cit.
292-308.
12 Op.cit.,pp. 604-7.
13 Op. cit.
9"The Folk-Urban Continuum," op. cit., pp.
529-37. 14Ibid.,pp. 432-40.
138 THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY
folk-urbancontinuum.The delineationof thus bringabout a verydistinctivesocial
thistype,themodernplantation, mayprove and culturalreorganization. The henequen
of someinterest, sincethe mostimpressive plantationbroughtsomething quite new to
applicationofthefolk-urban construct, that Yucatan, somethingwhich conceivably
of the studyof fourYucatecan communi- mightnot fitat all on the folk-urban con-
ties,'5did notincludea studyofa henequen tinuum.Merida,"theonerealcityofYuca-
plantation,even thoughhenequenproduc- tan,'9 mayindeedbe "dominant. . . in the
tionis thebackboneoftheYucatecanecono- economic,political,and sociallifeof Yuca-
my,accordingto Redfield.'6 The onlycom- tan,"20but "henequen. .. is the money
mentregarding thepossiblechoiceofone of crop of Yucatan; . . . henequendetermines
theseplantationcommunities is made in a the roleof Yucatan in the worldeconomy.
footnoteto chapteri of TheFolk Cultureof . . . The importantchangein the economic
Yucatan where Redfieldnotes that "the lifeofYucatan sincetheConquestoccurred
difference betweena community ofhacienda in thesecondhalfofthenineteenth century,
employeesand a community ofindependent whenhenequenbecamea commercially im-
farmers... wouldbe of importancein any portantcrop."'"
studyplannedwithimmediatereference to For the presentargumenta studyof a
thepracticalsocial and economicproblems henequenplantationmighthave provedof
ofYucatan."''7 particulartheoreticalvalue,because Yuca-
The presentwriterfeelsthata studyofa tecanplantationshave alwaysbeenmanned
community ofplantationl8 employeesmight byYucatecans.If therearedistinctive social
have had considerabletheoreticalvalue, and culturalfeatures whichflowfromthere-
quite apart frompracticalsocial and eco- organizationof lifewhichthis writerfeels
nomicproblems.This is not merelya ques- the plantation system entails, then the
tion of pick-and-choosein community ethniccontinuity of the people subject to
studies.The plantationrepresents a special thischangeis veryimportant.Frequently,
kindofindustrial organization. Many ofthe plantationdevelopment has broughtabout
featuresof life generallyassociated with the importationof labor with a culture
"urban,""Western,"or "modern"society, quitedistinctfromthatofthelocal inhabi-
such as a wage-laborpattern,standardized tants.In suchcasesthediffering characterof
wage rates,and industrialization, are intro- sociallifeand culturemightbe explainedby
duced throughplantationorganization and reference eitherto theeffectsof the system
seemto produceparticularsociocultural ef- itselfor to theantecedent cultureofthemi-
fects.Yet the people are not affectedin grants.In thecaseofYucatan,therelatively
termsofan "urban"or "Western"complex pureethniccontinuity ofthepopulationin-
but ratherin termsoftheimpactofspecific volvedinplantationdevelopment minimizes
innovations.The plantationsystemmay theoperationofdiffering ethnicelementsas
15 Redfield,The Folk Cultureof Yucatan; R. Red-
factorsin social and culturalchange.The
fieldand A. Villa R., Chan Kom: A Maya Village
plantation systemitselfcouldbe analyzedas
(Washington:CarnegieInstitution,1934); A. Villa the sourceof change,thedifferences in cul-
R., The Maya ofEast CentralQuintanaRoo (Wash- ture betweenmilperosand plantationem-
ington:CarnegieInstitution,1945). ployeesas theresultsoftheimposition ofthe
16 The writeris indebted to JohnV. Murra for
plantationsystem.But, unfortunately, no
this singularinsight.
anthropological study of a henequen-pro-
17
The Folk Cultureof Yucatan,p. 370.
18 I preferthe term"plantation" to "hacienda"
ducingplantationcommunity can be found
in this connection. According to a typological in theliterature.
schemeforthese variousformsof largelandholding There may be some value in discussing
organizationsnow being developed,the Yucatecan 19 The Folk Culture of Yucatan, p. 19.
henequen-growing farm organizationsare planta-
tionsand nothaciendas. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid., pp. 6, 7, passim.
 FOLK-URBAN CONTINUUM AND RURAL PROLETARIAN COMMUNITY 139

modernplantation life in another area. The plantationtypeis thedegreeto whichpro-

plantation is a distinctive form of agricul- ductionis "streamlined." Not onlyarelarge
tural organization and may, accordingly, holdingsa feature,but the controlof land,
exhibit distinctive social characteristics. labor,and machinery is centralized, and a
Whetheror not this turnsout to be the case productiondisciplinesimilarto that of a
will depend on the rigorwithwhichthe vari- largefactoryis maintained. Heavy capitali-
ation in plantation types is assessed and the zation for fertilizer, pesticide,irrigation,
care with whichplantations in different geo- farmmachinery, transport, exportfacilities,
graphical areas, having differenthistories, and land is customary. A corporation, often
growingdifferent crops, and manned by dif- foreign,operatesthe enterprise. Most sub-
ferentpersonnel are studied. Material from sistenceactivityis supplantedusuallyby
only a single community is summarized theproductionof a singlecash crop,which
here, and the development of a typological is eitherexportedor at least sold commer-
abstraction will consequently be subject to ciallythroughout thenationaleconomy.24 A
considerable refinementas more compara- creditand storessystemmay be present
tive work is done.22 whichprovidescommodities forthelaborers
Since the seventeenthcenturythe planta- but whichalso servesto tie themto theen-
tion has been the dominantmethodof Euro- terprise. Productionis rationalized in every
pean agricultural development in tropical possible manner.Modern cost-accounting
regions.In the earlierperiods therewas little governsoperationcosts,and the worksys-
mechanical equipment, even less scientific tem is standardizedat the most efficient
cultivation,and labour representeda capital level.Investment heavy,notonly
is initially
investment in theformofslaves,whileland was because modernagricultural methodsand
usually a free gift. The presentsituation is worldcompetititon requireit, but also be-
exactly the opposite in almost everyrespect. cause the systemis no "landkiller,"as the
Land is obtainedby rentor purchase-although
slave plantationwas, and looks to perma-
thepriceis in some places low-labour is paid
moneywages, methodsof increasingthe fer- nency as an objective.
tilityof the soil have greatlyimproved,and The impositionof the sugarplantation
in every industrycapital is extensivelyem- systemon thesouthcoastofPuertoRico af-
ployed. The form of cultivation that may fectedthe emergenceof large numbersof
legitimatelybe called plantation production rural proletariancommunities.25 In these
now representsa permanentinvestmentand a communities thevast majorityofpeople is
long-range interestin a definedarea ofland.23 landless,propertyless (in the senseof pro-
Such a characterization,forLatin Ameri- ductive property), wage-earning, store-buy-
ca, appears to apply particularly to sugar ing (the storesbeinga chainownedby the
and banana crops, only to a lesser extent to corporation,with few competitors),cor-
coffeeand henequen. One measure of the poratelyemployed, and standingin likere-
lationshipto the main sourceof employ-
22Ethnographic studies of plantations,in this ment.These ruralproletarian communities
case producingsugarcane,werecarriedout in Puerto mightalsobe considered classisolates,inthe
Rico by the writerand Dr. E. Padilla Seda in
1948-49,underthe directionof JulianStewardand sense that economic alternatives to wage
JohnMurra. To the writer'sknowledge,thesewere laborin thesugar-cane industry, otherthan
the firststudiesof thiskind. They will be published via migrationto the United States main-
in a workunder Steward's editorshipduring1953.
Since their completion,more studies of the same 24International Labour Organisation,Committee
kindhave been initiated.Cf. C. Wagley,"A Typolo- on Work on Plantations,Basic Problemsof Planta-
gy of Latin-America Subcultures: A Research tionLabour (Geneva: I.L.O., 1950), pp. 5-10.
Hypotheses" (manuscript).
25 S. Mintz, "Canarnelar, the Contemporary
23I. Greaves, Modern Productionamong Back- Culture of a Rural Puerto Rican Proletariat"
wardPeoples (London: Geo. Allen & Unwin,Ltd., (unpublished dissertation, Columbia University,
1935), p. 170. 1951).
140 THE AMERICAN JOURNALOF SOCIOLOGY
land, are veryscarce.The workingpeople tudes towardthepositionof women,simi-
notonlystandinlikerelationship to thepro- laritiesin dress,and otherexpressionsof
ductiveapparatusbutarealso interacting in taste,religion, and so on.28Needlessto say,
reciprocalsocial relationshipswith each thesesimilarities do notholdforeverysingle
otherand subordinate socialrelationships to ruralproletarian in a givencommunity, but
members ofhigherclasses(suchas theman- they are manifestations of unmistakable
agers).The ruralproletarian community as- over-alllikenesses.In short,while ethnic
sociatedwiththeplantationemergesas iso- homogeneity and geographicisolationare
latedina verydifferent wayfromthatofthe lacking,a veryreal kindof culturalhomo-
folksociety.In thelatercase theisolationis geneity, partlyclass determined, prevails.
primarily geographic,and thesocietycan be The ruralproletarian community is small,
discussedalmostcompletely in termsof it- and dailylifehas muchof a primary-group
self.In theformer case theisolationis socio- character.Admittedly, it is vastlydifferent
economic.The rural proletariansforma fromthatofa migratory huntingband or a
part society,and they are membersof a community like Tusik in QuintanaRoo.29
classwhichcan be analyzedadequatelyonly Geographical mobility, especiallymigration
withreference to otherclassesin the total to mainlandUnitedStates,militatesagainst
society,whilehavingminimalopportunities theinnercoherenceof theruralproletarian
to changetheirclass positionin the local community. Peoplefrequently leaveperma-
community. nentlyorforlongperiods.Newcomersenter
Unlike the ideal folk society,which is into the community, usuallyin search of
ethnicallyhomogeneous, theruralproletarian work.Thusthestabilityofpersonnel insuch
community may be ethnicallyheterogene- a communityis not high,as in a settled
ous. In Puerto Rican sugar-cane-growingsmall-farm area. At thesame timethe idea
communities ofthetypedescribedhere,the thatgeographical mobility entirely destroys
antecedents are Spanish,WestAfrican, and community coherencemay be overempha-
Arawak. The materialcultureof Puerto sized.It wouldappearthatthestability pro-
Rican ruralproletarianscontainselements videdby common knowledge ofdiffering roles
ofall theseancestralcultures.But thecom- may to some extenttake the place of the
monalityof class identity,stabilizedovera stabilitywhichdependson havingexactly
fifty-yearperiod,and builtupona historyof thesamepersonnelin thesame community
pre-occupation sugar haciendasin the re- forconsiderablelengthsof time.Bonds of
gion,makesfora kindofculturalhomogene- kinshipand of ritualkinshipuniterelative-
ity.House typesare limitedin varietyand ly largenumbersof membersof the same
revealmanycommonfeatures. Food prefer- class.Broadlysimilarfeaturesoflifeunder-
encesare clear cut and strikingly uniform. lie thelikenessofbehaviorofclassmembers.
Spanishis spoken,withsome Arawakand Classpatternsoflearningandbehavingmay
Africantermsadded; it is a kindofSpanish reducetheculturalstressescaused by high
quitedifferentfromthatspokenby middle- geographical mobility. Similarconditions of
class merchantsor universityprofessors. life whichproduce similaritiesof culture
Similaritiesin life-waysamongtheserural over largeareas may make Dossibleinter-
workingpeople extend to child-training 27 S. Mintz and E. Wolf,"An Analysisof Ritual
practices,26ritual kinship practices (not Co-parenthood(Compadrazgo),"Southwestern Jour-
merelythe Catholicsystemof compadrazgonal ofAnthropology, VI, No. 4 (winter,1950), 341-
but theparticularwaysinwhichthissystem 68.
is employedand standardized),27political 28Mintz, "Canamelar, the ContemporaryCul-
tureof a Rural Puerto Rican Proletariat,"op. cit.
attitudes,attitudestowardthe land, atti-
29 Cf. A. Villa R., The Maya of East Central
26K. Wolf,"GrowingUp and Its Price in Three QuintanaRoo.This village was the folkcommunity
XV, No. 4
Puerto Rican Subcultures,"Psychiatry, "type" in thesynchronic seriesoffourstudiesdirect-
(November,1952), 401-34. ed by Redfieldin Yucatan.
 FOLK-URBAN CONTINUUM AND RURAL PROLETARIAN COMMUNITY 141

changeability of personnelwhilemaintain- amongYaquis is rare,surplusesare small,

ing over-allculturaluniformity. Redfield and thereis littleor nocapitalaccumulation
himself has notedthata folklike societymay withinthevillage.3'
change its personnel with considerable Ruralproletarian communities in Puerto
rapidityand yet retaina highmeasureof Rico exhibitmanyfeaturessimilarto those
consistency. In his introduction to Spicer's foundin Pascua. Money is pervasive,but
studyofa landlesswage-earning community most relationshipsbetween villagersare
of Yaqui IndiansnearTucson,Arizona,he noncash;creditis common,and intereston
writes: moneyloaned by one ruralproletarianto
One wondersif the interesting . . . system anotheris unheardof.Blood and ritualkin
... by whichrelations amongmembers of the ties presupposecertain economicobliga-
societyare establishedand regulatedfully tions,but theseare notfixedand do notin-
developedonly aftersettlement in Arizona. volve interest,and, if a relationshipis
The hypothesis may be entertained thatthe abusedby takingfinancial advantageofkin-
extension of thesponsorsystemto includeall folk,the customaryobligationsof the ties
thecommunity mayhavebeena response to a
needforsolidarity in a newand alienworld. maybe suspendedor discarded.In thecase
... It strikes at leastthisreaderthatthepres- ofPuertoRican ruralproletarian communi-
entformofsocialorganization is welladapted ties,thesepatternscannotbe explaineden-
to thesituationin whichtheYaqui nowfind tirelyby referenceto a commoncultural
themselves-in that,whilesecurity and status heritagebut may be due in part to a com-
areprovided foreveryone, thekinship relations monclass identity.
are,as Dr. Spicerputsit,"generalized," so as In theruralproletarian community (as in
to makeit possibleforindividuals to dropout Pascua), no man is a primaryproducer.
and the composition of groupsfrequently to Everymanworksforwagesand buysneces-
change,as mustbe thecase wheremenleave sary commoditiesat retail stores,supple-
to workinotherfields oronotheroutsidejobs.
The loosenessof thehousehold groupsis an- menting his cash incomewithcertainminor
other corresponding feature.Pascua social subsidiary economicactivities,suchas fish-
structure preserves thesolidarity of thewhole ing,raisinga pig or chickens,sellingtickets
society while it is so flexibleas to allow for on theillegallottery, etc.Yet, whileno man
frequentchangesin its personnel.30 is a primaryproducer,to a surprising ex-
tenteveryman does as everyother,every
In essence,what Redfieldhas noted hereis
man thinksas everyother.Again,thecuri-
a situation where common knowledge and
ous similarity oftheidealfolksocietyto the
acceptance ofrolesseem to have compensat-
ruralproletariancommunity is onlyanalo-
ed partly forthe loss of homogeneityof per-
gous. The firstcase restson treatingthe
sonnel. The persistenceof folklikefeatures
wholesocietyin vaccuo;thesecondhas mean-
in Pascua lifeis attributedto the folksociety
ingonlyinso faras thecommunity is seenas
backgroundofthepeople, and theirretention
a merereservoirof manpower.The rural
of thesefeaturesis remarkedupon by Spicer
proletariancommunity tendsto be a class
and Redfield. The homogeneity of these
isolate,itsexistencepredicatedon theexist-
landless, wage-earningYaqui Indians is at-
ence of otherclasses who own the instru-
tributedto a commonculturalheritage.But
mentsof production, providethe workop-
the people of Pascua have not only an ac-
quired cultural homogeneitybut economic
portunities, pay thewages,and sellthecom-
homogeneityas well, effectedby their com- modities to be bought.
mon class status. Spicer notes that in Pascua The analogyof a ruralproletariancom-
relationshipswith outsiders are mainly em- munitywiththeideal folksocietymightbe
ployee-employer,wage-earningones. Yet the carriedeven further.Thus, for instance,
exchange of goods or services for money someareasoflifeare handledin traditional,
30 Op. cit., p. ix. 31Ibid.,pp. 36-39.
142 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

spontaneous,and uncriticalways.The sys- ly by plantationestates; exchangelabor,

tem of ritualkinshipis a sacredone, used tenancy,and share-cropping have been re-
primarilyto bind togethercontemporariesplacedbycashlabor;cashis usedexclusively
who are of the same socioeconomic group to buyessentialcommodities; personalrela-
and wholive in thesame community. This tionshipsbetweenemployerand employed
fictivekinshipsystemis employedto reduce (or betweenownerand tenant)have been
economiccompetitionand to strengthen supplantedby purelyimpersonalrelation-
bondsof co-operation and, in fact,appears ships,based on theworkdone,and witha
to reinforce class identityand to hamper standardpaymentfor that work; home
both geographicand socioeconomic mo- manufacturehas practicallydisappeared;
bility.32 consumption commodities have been stand-
Thereis,however, anothersideto thepic- ardized;and outsideagenciesofcontroland
ture of the ruralproletariancommunity, service-medical,political,police,religious,
evidencedby thewaysin whichthesecom- military, and educational-havedeveloped.
munitieshave come to resemblethe urban As a result,theruralproletarian community
pole ofthefolk-urban continuum. The same associatedwiththe modernplantationsys-
forceswhichmade of its people a class iso- tem exhibitsa characterwhichis superfi-
late also revampedand reorganized its way ciallyfolklikeinsomewaysandyetmightbe
oflife.The plantationexiststo satisfyneeds labeled"urban"inothers.But actuallysuch
outsidethelocalmilieu-thenationalor in- communities areneitherfolknorurban,nor
ternational market.In thelocal settingit re- are theysynthesesof these classifications.
quires for its successfuloperationa large They are, rather,radicallynew reorganiza-
working-class population;a monopolyover tionsof cultureand society,forming a dis-
the land; a standardmediumof exchange tinctivetypenotamenableto thefolk-urban
(money);standardized ratesofpay; a purely construction. It is forthesereasonsthat a
impersonal setof relationships betweenem- studyof a henequenplantationin Yucatan
ployed managersand employedworkers; mighthave upset,or at least greatlymodi-
meansofmaintaining controland discipline fied,thesequencefromthe"folksociety"of
overthelaborforce(in somecases obtained Tusik to the "metropolis"of Merida and
via the extensionof creditto workersfor back again.To a largedegree,it wouldseem
purchasesin corporation retailstores);and thatMerida's veryexistencehingeson the
the efficient regulationof workprocedures, continuedsuccessof the henequenplanta-
usuallyinvolvingthe reductionof tasks to tions.The forcesforchangeseem to origi-
theirsimplestessentials, anyjob beingeasily nate not in themetropolis but in theworld
learned,and anylaborertherefore easilyre- outside,and Merida is importantin its in-
placed. In short,the successfulplantation termediary relationshipswiththe key eco-
requiresall thosefeatures ofeconomicopera- nomicarea wherehenequenis produced.
tionwhichhave cometo be calledrational- The objectiveofthisarticleis notto criti-
ized,or "highcapitalistic,"as Sombartputs cize the folk-urban constructin vacuoor,
it.33 withHerskovits,to concludethat "classifi-
The same forceswhichhave moldedthe cationmustnotbe accordedtoo prominent
ruralproletariancommunity into an unex- a place in scientificstudy."34Classification
pectedanaloguewiththe ideal folksociety strikesthis writeras most necessaryin
have also been thosewhichhave made it studiesofculturechange.But theclassifica-
more "urban." Independentfreeholdpri- tionoughttobe based on empiricalresearch,
maryproduction has beenreplaceduniform- withthetypesso abstractedthattheymay
32 Mintz,"Canamelar," op. cit.
be easilytested,improved, ordiscarded.It is
conceivablethatthe ruralproletariancom-
33 W. Sombart,A New Social Philosophy(Prince-
ton: PrincetonUniversityPress, 1937), pp. 11 ff. 34 Op. cit., p. 607.
 FOLK-URBAN CONTINUUM AND RURAL PROLETARIAN COMMUNITY 143

munitydescribedin associationwith the hingeon the enumeration of thosefeatures

plantationtypein the presentarticlemay oftheplantationwhichare,in each case,es-
have its counterpart in manyotherplanta- sential to the successfuloperationof the
tionareas.The underlying assumptionhere systemand on thecontemporary cultureof
is that a particularkind of economicagri- thepeople who mustlive by the standards
culturalorganization, the plantation,may whichtheplantationimposeson local life.
producepredictablechangesin cultureand Wherea featureof operationappearsto be
in social organizations. If similarsociocul- essentialin one case, and not in another
tural featuresseem to be correlatedwith (e.g., standardizedwages),a special expla-
plantationorganizations in differentworld nationwouldbe necessary(or perhapsthe
areas,it maybe possibleto positregularre- "essential"featurewillturnout, in fact,to
lationshipsbetweenthe plantation"type" be notessentialafterall). The resulting type
and thesociocultural formswhichappearto formulation wouldbe considered in termsof
accompanyit or to be derivedfromit. The itssociocultural effectson thelocal commu-
Puerto Rican community describedabove nities,and some cause-and-effect relation-
has been typologicallycharacterizedelse- shipsbetweenthetypeand thelocalcultures
whereby the writer.35 It will differsome- mightbe posited.The type could thenbe
what froma type characterization forthe testedin otherareaswherethecommunities
henequenplantationsof Yucatan, which were not yet investigatedbut where the
lack thehighcapitaloutlay,magnitude, in- plantationsystemhad all the essentialfea-
dustrialdevelopment,etc., of one of the turesof the typedelineated.Such research
most advanced sugar-caneproductionand would aim at determiningwhetherthe
processingsystemsin the world.To this posited correlationsor causal hypotheses
degree,theway oflifeon henequenplanta- actually stood up; that is, whetherthe
tionsinYucatanmightnotturnout tobe so typologyreally provided any predictive
fullyat variancewiththe folk-urban con- powerfortheobserver.
structas the PuertoRican analogywould The present for-mulation deals with
lead us to believe.Yet a large numberof changesofa certainkind,hingingon theim-
comparativestudiesofplantations,treated positionof a fairlystandardizedset of fea-
withsufficient historicaldepth,mightpro- tures(such as large-scaleproduction,"as-
videbotha fullertypecharacterization and sembly-line" industrialorganization,wage-
an opportunity to checkaspectsof culture earning, standardized normsand rates,etc.)
changein a numberofrelativelylikecases. on local cultures,and theresultsofsuchan
Whatis proposedhereis thatbothformand imposition. It oughtnot to carrytheimpli-
processbe studiedvia typological constructs cationthatchangeproceedsfixedly or regu-
based on specificfieldstudies,so that like larlyalonga singlecontinuum or thatother
and unlikefeaturesmay be assessed.The kindsofchangemaynecessarily be analyzed
construction ofa plantationtypology would by its use.
35 Mintz,"Canamelar," op. cit. YALE UNIVERSITY