Politics has been described as the ‘authoritative allocation of values’ (Easton 1953:129) and the public policy literature discusses how values are incorporated in policy development processes and how decision makers balance the conflicting values that inevitably arise. Almost every policy decision involves a compromise between differing objectives, many of which are anchored in particular values: the trade off between inflation and unemployment is a clear example in economic policy, as is the balance between wages and profits. With a few exceptions, the discussion of values in the policy process has focused on identifiable values promoted by particular advocates within the policy community. Using agrarianism in Australia as an example, this chapter will argue that this interpretation of the role of values is superficial—that there exist deeper, fundamental values in a polity that do not need advocates, as their influence is pervasive. These values might not even be recognised or named but their impact can be seen.

This examination of agrarianism in Australia arises from a simple question: why is there so little public critical analysis of rural policy in Australia? Rural policies are rarely subject to the general scrutiny that applies, for example, when welfare, education or health policies are considered. When public interest in rural issues is aroused, it tends to be in response to events such as drought, which evoke general sympathy and support for government efforts to provide subsidies or other forms of government intervention. Why is such unquestioning support not forthcoming for other groups in the community, such as the unemployed, the disabled or single mothers? This chapter argues that this sympathetic response is the result of a residual agrarianism in Australian culture, which is shared by many developed countries, which dates back centuries, and which attributes to farmers certain virtues and idealised characteristics that generally place them beyond reproach. What makes this agrarianism interesting in Australia is that this country is one of the most urbanised in the world and, with a highly efficient agricultural sector, has one of the lowest levels of government support for farmers. In multilateral trade negotiations, Australia has criticised the United States and, more particularly, the European Union for farm policies that are seen as trade distorting and economically inefficient. Ironically, the motivation for these policies is much the same agrarian sentiment that motivates sympathy in Australia for farmers in difficulty and which provides the basis for the image cultivated by the National Party in differentiating itself from its opponents and from its coalition partners.

The chapter is set out as follows. The first section describes the characteristics of agrarianism, its history and its Australian manifestation, ‘country-mindedness’. The second section draws on the political science literature in examining the role of values in the policy process, and finally the chapter examines agrarianism and politics, specifically their role in sustaining the National Party and insulating rural policy from critical analysis.