Yes, but it obviously servers some purpose. Maybe it plays a role in creating and maintaining the dominance of US agriculture globally.
>And then on top of that, this seems like a very suspect history of
>American agriculture. To start with, Gawande seems to confuse
>productivity per unit land (which American agriculture was always bad at,
>and still is) with productivity per unit labor power, which IIUC American
>agriculture was always historically good at. Similarly (and relatedly)
>his assertion about how American farmers were to resistant to innovation
>seem wrong. IIRC American farmers were historically known for precisely
>thid willingness as early as the early 19C century where they pioneered in
>mechanization. (The cotton gin changed the course of history.)
Yeah, US productivity per unit land *increases* lag behind the average. It
is simply that US ag started with much larger and more productive parcels of
land, which goes back to the frontier land acts. On productivity per unit
of labor power you are correct, no one comes close on rate or rate of
increase. However, these two are not completely unconnected and it is the
relationship between them that is important and how, again, the history of
the development of US ag - with its large farms and lack of ag workers- that
fed into the process of technological innovation. (the mechanical reaper is
the real turning point in US ag).
>In short, this seems like a truly desperate, wrong and remarkably
>far-wandering maneuver to put lipstick on a pig.
Or, perhaps, it is an effort to maintain the US' dominant position in drug research and patents. Not that the view is entirely correct, but many fear the loss of this position if the large profits in the industry were removed. Thus, it is similar to the US' position in ag which is maintained by the influence of the state. It is often the case the progressive efforts for change result instead in policies that favor capital. Be careful what we wish for. Maybe no change is better than this type of change. If you can believe (in) it.
Brad