George William Russell ("A.E."), the poet-prophet of Irish agriculture, bases his whole conception of a desirable polity for the Irish State upon cooperative communities, and considers cooperative societies as a prerequisite to rural organization. After describing the marked economic and social changes which have taken place in a typical Irish community as the result of cooperation, he says: "I have tried to indicate the difference between a rural population and a rural community, between a people loosely knit together by the vague ties of a common latitude and longitude, and people who are closely knit together in an association and who form a true social organism, a true rural community, where the general will can find expression and society is malleable to the general will. I will assert that there never can be any progress in rural districts or any real prosperity without such farmers' organizations or guilds. Wherever rural prosperity is reported in any country inquire into it, and it will be found that it depends on rural organization. Wherever there is rural decay, if it is inquired into, it will be found that there was a rural population but no rural community, no organization, no guild to promote common interests and unite the countrymen in defence of them."[39] The same observations might be made upon the effect of cooperative enterprises in solidifying rural communities in the United States. It seems doubtful whether cooperative associations in the United States will develop a general social program as they have done in Ireland, Belgium, and Russia. On account of a different social inheritance and account of our facility in forming and belonging to numerous organizations, it seems probable that we will limit our cooperative societies to strictly economic functions, and will use the increased income secured through them in other organizations for social purposes. Commercial farming is breaking down the old individualism of the farmer, for the exigencies of the economic situation are forcing him to market collectively through cooperative selling associations, and as he learns that his own best interests are bound up with those of the whole community, he becomes increasingly concerned for the common welfare; he commences to think in terms of "us" and "ours," instead of only "me" and "mine." The community becomes a reality to him. FOOTNOTES: [30] "Agricultural Organization," p. 99. London, P. S. King & Son, 1912. [31] See Clarence Poe, "How Farmers Cooperate," Chap. III, p. 37. "Cooperative buying is good; cooperative merchandising may or may not be." New York, Orange Judd Co., 1915. [32] V. N. Valgren and E. E. Engelbert, "The Credit Association as an Agency for Rural Short-time Credit." Department Circular 197, U. S. Dept. Agr., 1921. [33] "Cooperation in Agriculture," pp. 22, 23. New York, The Macmillan Co., 1913.