Hard Working Norwegians and Germans

"The values of the "entrepreneurial self" in a Midwestern farming community in the wake of the farm crisis of the 1980s are discussed, based on ethnographic interviews with Norwegian and German farm residents in Star Prairie county of western Minnesota. [...] Competitive production is a moral obligation in this community, and individuals ... believing that good performance demonstrates that they are worthy of their inheritance from their farming ancestors. [...A] bad farm manager is one who values leisure and conspicuous consumption over responsible management."