Resumen de El retorn al camp" a catalunya: una perspectiva antropològica
Concerns about climate change and the depopulation of rural areas in Europe have risen in the political agenda. The neo-rural phenomenon offers a solution to these issues, underpinned by an ideology that rejects the advance of the neoliberal model and the deterioration of natural resources. As well as entailing a way of conceiving the world, the neo-rural phenomenon has practical manifestations: people settle in rural areas and attempt to live in tune with the surrounding environment. The neo-rural phenomenon is referred to in a variety of ways in the literature: environmental intentional communities, including eco-villages; neo-rurality; neo-peasantry, and the back-to-the-land phenomenon.
This doctoral thesis studies the economic and social sustainability of the neo-rural phenomenon in Catalonia based on its reproduction and individual motivations for joining the neo-rural collective. It also explores the interrelations between the phenomenon and the dominant economic, social and political structure: neoliberalism. The thesis consists of two theoretical chapters together with a compendium of three scientific articles, introduction and conclusions. Chapter 1 introduces the overall theme. Chapter 2, the first theoretical chapter, reflects on the self-sufficiency economy in a context in which the market economy is the main form of supply. Self-sufficiency thus emerges as one of the ideological dimensions of the neo-rural phenomenon. Chapter 3, the second theoretical chapter, explains the concept of the commons and community, another dimension of neo-rural lifestyles. It explores different conceptualisations of the commons and the stigmatisation and idealisation present in the literature on this subject. The first empirical chapter, Chapter 4, is the first article in the compendium and investigates the factors that determine the long-term survival of ecological intentional communities, exploring their social organisation and economy. The article proposes a typology of communities, contributing to a greater understanding of the heterogeneity of the phenomenon in interaction with the market economy. The second article in the compendium, Chapter 5, considers the motivations that prompt people to become part of a community. It explores the role of economic concerns relating to self-subsistence in the decision to join a community. The article concludes that the 2008 social and economic crisis led to a change in the profile of people seeking a return to the land. The third article in the compendium, Chapter 6, examines the economic strategies adopted by neo-peasants to guarantee their social reproduction. It investigates the impact of the economic crisis on neo-peasants and the influence of the public authorities on their material security. Several different types of neo-peasantry are identified in terms of their presence in the market economy and the various responses to these situations are explored. Chapter 7 summarizes the contributions of this thesis and proposes future lines of research.
The study is based on a primarily qualitative research methodology. Its main data collection techniques are ethnographical, namely participant observation, informal and semi-structured interviews. The data were collected and analysed in Catalonia between 2013 and 2019.
