[lbo-talk] agricultural productivity

[brad bauerly]

Sean, I granted that biopiracy and other forms of appropriation occur
(I even have an article that will soon be published on the persistence
of Primative Accumulation).  So your claim that I don't think
innovation occurs outside of capitalism's control is bullshit.  On the
issue of science and technology though, your argument that they are
independence from capitalism opens the door to claims that the
problems in society- ecological problems including climate change,
hunger, ect..- are not caused by capitalism but by the independent
science and technology.  It can lead to neoluddite anti-industrial and
anti-technological arguments and does so easier than anti-capitalist
ones.  The argument against capitalism is not so weak that we can't
allow for some positive things to have been developed by it.  This
does not undermine the facts that it is a shitty system and ripe with
exploitation and misery.  Vulgar unnuanced claims of capitalism
complete lack of any sort of human gains simply make the left look
silly, or worse lead to attacks on the independent science and
technology instead of locating the roots of the problems in
capitalism.

Brad