I regularly buy lumber from an Amish business near Middlefield, Ohio for woodworking projects. The drive there is a short one, maybe twenty minutes, from exurban Cleveland to what's basically another country. There's a subtle change in the pattern of the landscape, homes, and roads. Most houses in the Amish country, even those with a modest amount of land, are working, productive places with animals, fields, maybe a maple syrup shack, a store, or a sawmill or a wood shop. By contrast most houses of "the English" are living quarters and maybe storage. Another not-so-subtle shift is the prevalence of small businesses. It seems every third house in the Amish country also hosts a small business. Another stark difference is every neighborhood has a schoolhouse.
The Amish show patterns of life aren't determined by economics at all, not even a little bit. They made a conscious choice to live as they do, while the rest of America seems to be shaped more by communal hypnosis and a lack of thought.
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