This book reflects the argument on agrarian transformation in Egypt. It focuses on the role of agricultural mechanization in the labor process in rural Egypt. The book emphasizes the changing role of the household and the relations between households, particularly the role of women and children. .

The role of agricultural mechanization in the labor process in rural Egypt is the focus of this book, the first major anthropological study in Upper Egypt in a generation. Based on data gathered from a large village, the book portrays population trends, land-tenure patterns, irrigation practices, agricultural labor, mechanization, and marketing, and examines their implications for religion and local politics. The author emphasizes the changing role of the household and the relations between households, particularly the role of women and children. Especially important is Dr. Hopkins's interpretation of the process of differentiation, where class is seen as a dynamic outgrowth of the labor process rather than simply deduced from ownership or control of property. The paradox of his Egypt study is that while objective differentiation is present, class consciousness is not. Patterns of social control based on hierarchy and deference are still strong and ensure the reproduction of the social system.