Not really a good source. He starts at most a couple of centuries
before capitalism. Not that I don't think your point is not probably
valid, but your source does not support it. As I understand it, and
it has been a while since I last glanced an the literature on this,
there was actually a huge drop in standard of living in the transition
from hunter-gatherer to agriculture. Row crop and orchard agriculture
became a supplier of staples in the face of climate change (again as I
remember the literature). Much more labor required for a given amount
of food than foraging and hunter gathering, but food could be grown in
a smaller area. That became critical in the face of climate change
when the size of the population that could be supported through
foraging and hunting dropped drastically. Agriculture was miserable
compared to pre-agricultual life, but chosen because the alternative
was death. I do wonder if there were no increases in the standard of
living from early neolithic agriculture to later forms of agriculture
- for instance the use of bronze and eventually iron. Anyway odds are
there is someone on this list who is familar with the recent
literature on the first point, and probably Doug can point to
literature on the second.
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
-- Facebook: Gar Lipow Twitter: GarLipow Solving the Climate Crisis web page: SolvingTheClimateCrisis.com Grist Blog: http://grist.org/author/gar-lipow/ Online technical reference: http://www.nohairshirts.com