This migration of millions, back and forth, between city and country, is to me evidence of profound dissatisfaction with living conditions both in the country and in the city. It is something which those considering a change in their ways of living should carefully ponder. The question to which I have been seeking an answer is whether the way of life described in this book is a way out for a population evidently unhappy both in the city and in the country. Those who are interested in this question, and those who are considering such a way of living, may find in this volume an answer to many of the problems which perplex them in connection with it. We are living in one of the most interesting periods in the world's history.
Industrial civilization is either on the verge of collapse or of rebirth on a new social basis.
Men and women who desire to escape from dependence upon the present industrial system and who have no desire to substitute for it dependence upon a state controlled system, are beginning to experiment with a way of living which is neither city life nor farm life, but which is an effort to combine the advantages and to escape the disadvantages of both. The movement toward subsistence farming is receiving extraordinary official recognition and support. All things point that way. . . . The great objective . In Dayton, Ohio, for nearly a year, a sociological experiment of far-reaching significance has been under way.