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So they could starve with no employment in a field, right? Or die working in a farm with no any kind of mechanisation?

by p2t2p 8y ago

colechristensen 8y ago
Subsistence farming isn't so bad of a life, compared to 60 hour factory weeks. Lots of western elites see something like that as a luxurious retirement. I personally don't want to participate in a slave economy.
- wycs 8y ago
  Tell that to the former subsistence farmers who show every indication of preferring assembly work. Life as a subsistence farmer is much worse than you can imagine. We know this because people overwhelmingly prefer factory work, even in terrible conditions.
- macspoofing 8y ago
  >Subsistence farming isn't so bad of a life, compared to 60 hour factory weeks. Wanna bet? Why do you think rural populations leave as soon as they are able and move to cities to work in factories. > Lots of western elites see something like that as a luxurious retirement. The bigger stereotype is rich westerners fetishizing harsh rural life - the kind of life they aren't willing to participate in but have no problem advocating for for the poor in developing nations.
  - colechristensen 8y ago
    Some of them do, many, but not all. Surely some are surprised by the expectation vs reality of their new lives. I have spoken to many "rich westerners" about my (also western, not poor but rural) upbringing and gotten responses which were longing for that sort of life. It is possible to live very well by a certain standard, on a small amount of land by doing most of the things you need for yourself. There are a lot of people who want that instead of their city life. Not for others but for themselves. Very few people who didn't experience something like it have any idea at all what it might be like.
    - macspoofing 8y ago
      >I have spoken to many "rich westerners" about my (also western, not poor but rural) upbringing and gotten responses which were longing for that sort of life. I bet. There is a romanticization of a back-to-basics lifestyle. But western farming is nothing like 3rd world subsistence farming. >It is possible to live very well by a certain standard, on a small amount of land by doing most of the things you need for yourself. There is a hidden assumption underneath your statement, namely that you have ready access to electricity, indoor plumbing, modern healthcare, and generally typical western infrastructure. So what you're describing is either cottage living, or a hobby farm. Those are nothing like 3rd world subsistence farming.
- jeffreyrogers 8y ago
  The suicide rate decreases when Chinese farmers move to cities, so it seems people prefer to live in cities than be subsistence farmers.
- jeffbax 8y ago
  Please, go work on a field and get back to us.

So they could starve with no employment in a field, right? Or die working in a farm with no any kind of mechanisation?

by p2t2p 8y ago

So they could starve with no employment in a field, right? Or die working in a farm with no any kind of mechanisation?

Subsistence farming isn't so bad of a life, compared to 60 hour factory weeks. Lots of western elites see something like that as a luxurious retirement. I personally don't want to participate in a slave economy.

wycs 8y ago
Tell that to the former subsistence farmers who show every indication of preferring assembly work. Life as a subsistence farmer is much worse than you can imagine. We know this because people overwhelmingly prefer factory work, even in terrible conditions.
macspoofing 8y ago
>Subsistence farming isn't so bad of a life, compared to 60 hour factory weeks. Wanna bet? Why do you think rural populations leave as soon as they are able and move to cities to work in factories. > Lots of western elites see something like that as a luxurious retirement. The bigger stereotype is rich westerners fetishizing harsh rural life - the kind of life they aren't willing to participate in but have no problem advocating for for the poor in developing nations.
- colechristensen 8y ago
  Some of them do, many, but not all. Surely some are surprised by the expectation vs reality of their new lives. I have spoken to many "rich westerners" about my (also western, not poor but rural) upbringing and gotten responses which were longing for that sort of life. It is possible to live very well by a certain standard, on a small amount of land by doing most of the things you need for yourself. There are a lot of people who want that instead of their city life. Not for others but for themselves. Very few people who didn't experience something like it have any idea at all what it might be like.
  - macspoofing 8y ago
    >I have spoken to many "rich westerners" about my (also western, not poor but rural) upbringing and gotten responses which were longing for that sort of life. I bet. There is a romanticization of a back-to-basics lifestyle. But western farming is nothing like 3rd world subsistence farming. >It is possible to live very well by a certain standard, on a small amount of land by doing most of the things you need for yourself. There is a hidden assumption underneath your statement, namely that you have ready access to electricity, indoor plumbing, modern healthcare, and generally typical western infrastructure. So what you're describing is either cottage living, or a hobby farm. Those are nothing like 3rd world subsistence farming.
jeffreyrogers 8y ago
The suicide rate decreases when Chinese farmers move to cities, so it seems people prefer to live in cities than be subsistence farmers.
jeffbax 8y ago
Please, go work on a field and get back to us.