Abstract

The social and economic roots of the rapid mechanization of wheat harvesting in the U. S. midwest in the 1850s has been the subject of a long debate among economic and social historians. While the participants in this debate make important contributions, clarifying a variety of issues, their reliance on family farmers' subjective motivations ("utility" vs. "profitmaximization") to explain the adoption of the reaper ultimately undermines their explanatory power. An alternative explanation, based on a more realistic conception of competition and a recognition of the natural barriers to capitalist social relations in agriculture, is offered.