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There's truth to that story, but it doesn't paint the whole picture. Rural life is dull, you have a limited social circle and limited access to culture. And yo
by biggestdecision 7y ago
There's truth to that story, but it doesn't paint the whole picture.
Rural life is dull, you have a limited social circle and limited access to culture. And you have few opportunities. People today still crowd into overpriced cities with poor living conditions, because they dream of 'making it', and they can't bear the thought of toiling away at agriculture (or at a lesser job).
In China, an entire generation has been uplifted out of poverty by voluntarily relocating off of farms and into manufacturing jobs, and it's been so successful that it's cited as a reason for the popularity of current authoritarian leadership.
- henryfjordan 7y agoI don't get the comparison with China. They still have an incredibly significant agricultural workforce (like 30% of workers are in agriculture) compared to 2% in the US. The US already moved people off farms to factories before WWII and we're in a different stage of economic development. We're not talking about subsistence farming vs driving for Uber here.
- 9nGQluzmnq3M 7y agoIn many countries like India and Indonesia, driving for Uber (or Gojek or Grab or Ola) is a viable alternative to subsistence farming.