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I can see how this is true of fast food, motor vehicles and electronics, not necessarily fresh produce. A South African winefarm can only make South African win
by TheUndead96 7y ago
I can see how this is true of fast food, motor vehicles and electronics, not necessarily fresh produce. A South African winefarm can only make South African wine in South Africa. Coca-cola and Heineken can (and do) make their product the world over, wherever it is consumed.
If anything, vertical farming should be able to produce the consistent "big mac" equivalent of the tomato/lettuce/potato?
Am I incorrect in the sentiment of the capitalist argument here?
- Arn_Thor 7y agoIf wealth overall is being drained from the country that depletes the stock of resources that would otherwise have been reinvested locally in industry and agriculture. A simplification, of course, but the principle applies.
- TheUndead96 7y agoYes, I can definitely agree with this.
- pjc50 7y agoAmartya Sen's Nobel-prize-winning work on famine is probably the best read here. He points out that the problem is rarely lack of food, but lack of claim on food. People end up unable to afford it, no matter how cheap it might be. "Solutions" which involve heavy capital investment and depend on imported items aren't going to make it cheaper. It's even possible to end up with situations where food is destroyed because it cannot economically be sold, while people are also starving. This is not about food but about power.
- TheUndead96 7y agoStarted reading their essay. This is incredibly interesting, I was not aware of this.
- pjc50 7y agoGlad to be of service! If you want another possibly transformational read, Hernando De Soto's The Other Path has a lot of interesting things to say about rule of law and property rights.