Gunnar, Thank you for your work. I am particularly taken by this bit from your book: "when traditional farming systems are brought into the market economy, the change is more than just technical or economic. The whole village social context is disrupted, reducing the role of the village and the extended family." This sits at the heart of what I'm on about here, attempting to re-weave the social fabric that held farm life together. I am so glad to be in conversation with you.
Thanks, Gunnar! The so-called 'Green Revolution' sponsored by arrogant billionaires like Bill Gates actually destroyed the lives and livelihoods of countless small farmers across the Global South, all in an effort to tie these people or at least their lands to huge agribusinesses and the capitalist/imperialist world. It's good to see pushback from folks like yourself and those with whom you work. We, as a species, will either return to our successful evolutionary ways, or we will go extinct. It really is that simple. Finite planet with finite replenishable resources = 'soon' industrial civilization will collapse.
This is so true. From my observation of rural Ireland I would say not only can you destroy a village or local economy, you can destroy an entire way of life and a culture. Irish culture and songs were rooted in the experiential life of rural communities, today most Irish live in the cities and work for multi nationals. People still sing in pubs about the foggy dew, or Galway Bay but this is more and more an exercise in nostalgia.
Rural Ireland doesn't have farmers anymore, it has agricultural factories and the land and water is increasingly polluted. This would not have been allowed in a landscape populated by people who depended on the countryside for their livelihood....
Great, thanks! :)
It is important to note that smallholders often act irrationally not because of ignorance or laziness.
Big profits are not their incentive, their incentive is to minimize risks
Gunnar, Thank you for your work. I am particularly taken by this bit from your book: "when traditional farming systems are brought into the market economy, the change is more than just technical or economic. The whole village social context is disrupted, reducing the role of the village and the extended family." This sits at the heart of what I'm on about here, attempting to re-weave the social fabric that held farm life together. I am so glad to be in conversation with you.
Thanks, Gunnar! The so-called 'Green Revolution' sponsored by arrogant billionaires like Bill Gates actually destroyed the lives and livelihoods of countless small farmers across the Global South, all in an effort to tie these people or at least their lands to huge agribusinesses and the capitalist/imperialist world. It's good to see pushback from folks like yourself and those with whom you work. We, as a species, will either return to our successful evolutionary ways, or we will go extinct. It really is that simple. Finite planet with finite replenishable resources = 'soon' industrial civilization will collapse.
This is so true. From my observation of rural Ireland I would say not only can you destroy a village or local economy, you can destroy an entire way of life and a culture. Irish culture and songs were rooted in the experiential life of rural communities, today most Irish live in the cities and work for multi nationals. People still sing in pubs about the foggy dew, or Galway Bay but this is more and more an exercise in nostalgia.
Rural Ireland doesn't have farmers anymore, it has agricultural factories and the land and water is increasingly polluted. This would not have been allowed in a landscape populated by people who depended on the countryside for their livelihood....