[lbo-talk] agricultural productivity

James Heartfield Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk
Mon Apr 19 08:33:31 PDT 2010


I agree with Chris Doss, when he says "I think people are conflating technological development and capitalism, which are different things."

I don't want capitalism (which seems destructive and oppressive in so many ways). But I do think we need the technological developments that have (in however grudging a way) been introduced under capitalism (and also under other social systems). That is why it seems to me that even if it was largely introduced under selfish capitalistic interests, the technological aspects of the green revolution are a good thing, being primarily, fertilisers and motorisation.

I thought that Marx's distinction between forces and relations of production was meant to separate out in thought those two aspects, the better to separate them in fact, by overthrowing the social system, without abandoning those technological gains that had been achieved.

We need those methods that raise agricultural productivity, because unless we are considering a systemic population reduction, there will still be six point six billion mouths to feed after the revolution.



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