"a sack of potatoes" what dose it mean?

Question

for example, Smallholders had about as much collective spirit as “a sack of potatoes”, he once complained.

Answer 1

It is negative.  Think about it--how much spirit does a sack of potatoes have?  In this case, it sounds like the smallholders wee a pretty boring group.

Answer 2

Laziness and hard to motivate to do anything.

Answer 3

A sack of potatoes just sits there, slumps, inert.  Has no energy, shows no evidence of thought.  It is a simile that has been used for many many years.

Answer 4

The way you used it in your example gives it a negative connotation about 'Smallholders'.

However, I've heard it used like this: He carried her like a sack of potatoes.   (Which means over the shoulder).