Between the heat and the light. Does rural community need common places?

Abstract

The author takes a look at the different areas of life in the modern farming community and tries to identify those areas which intertwine with common spaces, including mental, territorial, cultural and manners. She describes successes and failures of building self-governance, the dominant role of the Catholic Church and changes in attitudes arising from new technologies. She wonders to what degree the global village can contribute to the community, and to what degree it can break it.