Yeah that comment isn't quite fair but Berry does have a massive blindspot around labor. His entire like, deal, is built on the nearly-unmentioned-in-his-entire-works fact that he's describing a world of agrarian landowners who do relatively little productive work themselves. We can't all be gentleman farmers!
The fact that his writings are still so good and useful and interesting speaks incredibly highly of his powers of perception and skill as a writer. But it makes them nearly useless in a "how ought we to be" conversation, which is one of the main things his works engage with. So it really is a huge problem with his entire project.
The fact that his writings are still so good and useful and interesting speaks incredibly highly of his powers of perception and skill as a writer. But it makes them nearly useless in a "how ought we to be" conversation, which is one of the main things his works engage with. So it really is a huge problem with his entire project.