Les bourgeois de la terre : stratégies foncières et mobilités sociales dans le midi toulousain au dix-neuvème et vingtième siècles
Institution:
Toulouse 2Disciplines:
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Abstract EN:
The study of social mobility in land ownership, if based upon the genealogical analysis of landed estates, re-establishes complex trends, so far overlooked in favour of economic explanations largely inspired by the marxist model which prevailed in the 1960's. The analysis of the evolution of large landed estates in the toulouse area of the midi from 1830 to 1992 challenges the thesis that economic factors should be given priority in explaining changes in the ownership of large landed estates. Such elements as social mobility between generations and within the same generations and the declining role played by land property in defining one's identity nowadays are fare more influential in altering the distribution of large land property than the variations of farm income, the level of ground rent or the market value of a property. In a situation in which the land receives patrimonial value from the owner, its management is disconnected from any considerations related to the variations of its economic value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the importance granted to land ownership by the bourgeoisie in the definition of one's identity and social position accounts for the limited mobility of land ownership, in spite of changing economic circumstances. That is why, in the late 19th century, the collapse of ground rent did not cause the large landed estates of the bourgeoisie to disappear but instead froze the social distribution of vast estates, as owners set up strategies for preserving their patrimonies with a view to ensuring the perpetuation of social structures. Conversely, the increased social mobility of families in the 20th century, changing social representations - notably that of the elites - explain the changing strategies of landowners. Since
Abstract FR:
L'analyse de la mobilite sociale fonciere, a partir du suivi genealogique des proprietes foncieres, rend droit de cite a des phenomenes complexes, jusque la negliges au profit d'explications economiques relevant du modele marxiste dominant dans les annees 1960. L'analyse cinematique de la grande propriete fonciere dans le midi toulousain de 1830 a 1992 remet en cause le primat de la logique economique dans les schemas d'explication de l'evolution de la grande propriete fonciere. La mobilite sociale inter et intragenerationnelle, la lente erosion de la valeur identitaire accordee au patrimoine foncier dans les representations contemporaines, constituent des facteurs bien plus actifs d'evolution de la repartition sociale de la grande propriete que les fluctuations du revenu agricole, le calcul de rente ou de valeur marchande devolue au bien-fonds. A partir du moment ou la possession de la terre est affectee d'une valeur patrimoniale par son proprietaire, son mode de gestion est detache de considerations sur les fluctuations de sa valeur economique. Au xixeme siecle et au debut du xxeme siecle, l'importance de la valeur sociale et identitaire devolue aux biens-fonds au sein de la societe bourgeoise explique la faible mobilite de la propriete, en depit des variations de la conjoncture economique. A la fin du xixeme siecle, l'effondrement de la rente fonciere n'a pas, ainsi, provoque la disparition des patrimoines fonciers bourgeois, mais a cristalliser au contraire, la repartition sociale de la grande propriete, dans la mesure ou les proprietaires ont developpe des strategies de conservation patrimoniale a des fins de reproduction sociale. En revanche, la mobilite sociale accrue des familles au xxeme siecle, la modification des representations sociales, et principalement de la representation elitaire, expliquent les changements de strategie fonciere des proprietaires. Parce que progressivement