"Back to the land" usually refers to a movement during the 1960's-1970's when thousands of people (largely young, middle to upper class Americans) left cities and suburbs for rural settlements. Individual motivations varied, but often-cited reasons included: dissatisfaction with conventional employment and lifestyles, concern about the depletion of fossil fuels, and interest in environmentalism. But as time progressed, many people left their homesteads and communes, and the movement dissipated. However, the movement produced its successes as well as its failures. Institutions such as the Farm in Tennessee and permaculture are the lasting legacy of the back-to-the-land movement. As new environmental challenges confront the world, some perceive the rise of new back-to-the-landers.
Selected bibliography
- Back from the Land: How Young Americans Went to Nature in the 1970s, and Why They Came Back by Eleanor Agnew
- New Pioneers: The Back-to-the-Land Movement and the Search for a Sustainable Future by Jeffrey Carl Jacob
- Back to the Land: The Enduring Dream of Self-Sufficiency in Modern America by Dona Brown