Re:For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now ...
by danem on Monday January 06, 2020 @06:39PM
(#21974824)
I'll take being able to feed the entire world's population more affordably than ever over the jobs of a small group of people in a rich country. This isn't to say the government should play no role in cushioning those affected by progress, but the progress has been undeniably good.
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Re:For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now ...
by NeedMoreTea on Monday January 06, 2020 @06:55PM
(#21974995)
Progress implies improvement. s/progress/change/
Re:For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now ...
by danem on Monday January 06, 2020 @06:58PM
(#21975015)
And how haven't things improved for the vast majority of people on Earth in regard to food security?
Re:For tech-weary Midwest farmers, 40-year-old tractors now ...
by carapace on Monday January 06, 2020 @10:55PM
(#21976676)
Well, it's interesting, we now have obesity problems and other issues brought on by our very success. "Too much is always better than not enough." But too much still brings trade-offs.
Further, consider that, since the invention of artificial nitrogen fertilizer[1] we have been converting oil into humans[2], and population growth is the main driver of environmental impacts. Food security is an illusion: if anything ever interrupts the production of nitrogen fertilizer in a serious way billions of people will starve.
Jared Diamond called agriculture "The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race"[3]
We cannot judge the benefits of our civilization just yet.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haber_process circa 1910
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population Look at the graph, notice that it curves up sharply circa 1925-1950.
[3] http://www.zo.utexas.edu/courses/THOC/Readings/Diamond_Worst...