Synopses & Reviews
Review
"Harding's rather hysterical final remark ('There was no ugly process of elimination; just a slow, clean, cultural death') reveals her biases and undercuts the real worth of this interesting study of 'social change in a capitalist dictatorship.' Borrowing from anthropology, history, and sociology, Harding studies the profound changes which occurred in the economic and social structure of a Spanish town between 1950 and 1975.The history is interspersed with case studies of the residents of Ibieca, and their tales prove for Harding that change was apparent well before the 1960's (the supposed 'rural exodus') and that the major reason for the change was the state's policies on supply and demand, markets, and agrarian reform." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)