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  • From: Clansgian AT wmconnect.com
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Go ld -- feel free to ignore
  • Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 09:31:33 EST



> >A couple questinos: do you have an estimated time frame for that, and
> what do you see that would cause their failures?

In the case of agribusiness, three years before the effects are sharply felt.
Agribusiness is .. well... a business. It depends on capital, loans,
investors, loans ... and did I mention loans. Look at Zimbabwe. It had a
thriving
agribusiness that was far and away its main source of wealth. But it
depended, like ours, on industrial engineered seed, heavy equipment, fossil
fuel
derived fertilizer, and diesel. All those things were had by means of
international loans. When all the farmland was seized, the international
loans dried up
(what are the odds) and the farms fell into complete ruin within a season.

Such land seizure isn't going to take place here, but food production is just
a business. When it ceases to be profitable, or there is something else that
looks like it is more profitable, the investors and lenders simply go some
place else and the agribusiness companies get out of the business.

In that case what do we have to replace it?

Not likely? Look at the recent debacle with biofuels. We were perfectly
willing to devote agribusiness output to motor fuel an double and triple the
price of food simply because it was more porfitable. We'd do it again and
worse
in a heartbeat.


>
> >Do you mean some form of statist society?
>

That's entirely possible. But I am more concerned (addressing, actually, I'm
not all that concerned) with the nature of it rather than the source of it.
As a mild example, our society has evolved into very framgmented family
units.
We look on the norm as children all leaving home when they are 18 and living
separate lives and establishing separate households. Economic necessity is
already breaking down that paradigm. I see us becoming more like our
sojouning
Chinese and Mexicans here with a family acting in consort for several
generations and though several extensions.

James




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