Rural Problems of Today — A Reader’s Guide

The Farmer's Mind and Money

In chapter VIII, Groves argues that the farmer's daily contact with natural forces—sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile—prevents him from believing money can do everything. The farmer works to make money and is often troubled by its lack, yet his everyday philosophy reveals an awareness of money's limits. By contrast, the city-dweller finds that money can procure nearly anything: fruits from the ends of the earth, protection from disease and vice, even a respectable funeral. Groves contends that urban political philosophy is built on the supreme value of money and its distribution. This psychological difference, he suggests, leads rural people to a saner, more grounded worldview.

Two Kinds of Faulty Homes

The opening chapter divides faulty homes into two classes: those that give children too little care and those that give too much. The first type is obviously harmful; children need wise, patient, kindly care. But Groves also warns against overprotection, noting that even domesticated animals require considerable care to reach maturity. This balanced observation sets the tone for his nuanced approach to rural family life. He does not idealize the country home but instead identifies specific psychological pitfalls—neglect on one side, smothering on the other—that can undermine child development.

Rural Experience as National Antidote

Groves argues that urban dominance in communication and organization has spread a materialistic philosophy that recoils from nature's realities. The antidote, he writes, is a larger contribution from rural people—especially those who grapple directly with natural law. He criticizes city dwellers for being ignorant of the effort required to produce familiar foods, citing a visit to a city seed-store as evidence. Healthy national ideals, he concludes, require both urban and rural contributions, and it is the business of social welfare advocates to respect rural thinkers and find ways to amplify their voice in national policy.

Groves writes in a direct, expository style, often using contrast to sharpen his points. Readers should note how he builds arguments from concrete observations—a farmer's attitude toward money, a city person's ignorance of food production—rather than from abstract theory. The book's psychological lens makes it a distinctive entry in early rural sociology, one that rewards attention to its recurring themes of nature, materialism, and the value of firsthand experience.

I keep thinking about how Groves saw the countryside as a state of mind, not just a place—how money and nature shift meaning with solitude. That quiet ache for belonging reminded me of another old volume, The Social Work of the Salvation Army — Context and Discussion, which traces a different kind of reaching out. Both left me wondering about the spaces between people, and what we carry alone.