[lbo-talk] Enough With the China Shtick Already!

[Alan Rudy]

Brad, while I agree with the critique you make of Phil's work, I'm not sure
I see the argument as neoMalthusian... I don't see natural scarcity limiting
foodstocks, raising prices, causing hunger and subsequently generating
ecological destruction and lifeboat ethics in his argument... I see, however
flawed, an argument for institutional change in one locale generating
institutional constraints in others, this is a model of socially-produced
scarcity even if it doesn't take into account ratios, and other factors -
like the rising price of oil, rising demand for corn for ethanol production
and any number of brouhahas over GMO crops, perhaps most especially GMO corn
and soy - it should.

On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 5:42 PM, brad bauerly <bbauerly at gmail.com> wrote:


> Although not dealing with climate change, Philip McMichael argues (both in
> MR and in Agriculture and Human Values) that the cause of the 2007-08 food
> crisis was the Chinese adopting western meat-centered diets and car
> culture.  The corporate controlled globalized agriculture model, according
> to McMichael, could not keep up with this new demand.  Never mind the fact
> that food stock-to-use ratios were not at unprecedented low levels and that
> the huge bubble in the commodity markets, once it popped, accounted for the
> vast majority of the rise in prices.  Neo-Malthusianism disguised as lefty
> theory.  Yuck!!
>
> Brad
>
>
>
>
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>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > OK, fine, but _I_ still haven't heard it directly from my neighbors and
> > lefty friends... I never said it wasn't out there.
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 10:17 AM, James Heartfield <
> > Heartfield at blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> > > Alan Rudy says 'I haven't heard this argument from lefty
> > > environmentalists', of Dwayne's eg of environmentally-worded China
> > bashing.
> > >
> > > spiked-online keeps a watch on China-bashing which includes many
> examples
> > > of environmentally-inspired China-bashing, here:
> > > http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/issues/C136/
> > >
> > >   etc etc....
> > >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> >
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>

-- 
*********************************************************
Alan P. Rudy
Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
Central Michigan University
124 Anspach Hall
Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
517-881-6319