3 ms·
> Keep in mind that the world operated on subsistence farming before 1800 Yep. But I think a big difference here is between subsistence farming and serfdom on
by alfiedotwtf 6y ago
> Keep in mind that the world operated on subsistence farming before 1800
Yep. But I think a big difference here is between subsistence farming and serfdom on the farm you lived in vs sending kids into the wool factories with unbreathable air. The testimonies from factory inspectors is mind blowing.
> What eventually saved children from this was the rising productivity that came from industrialization.
Eventually, thankfully yes. But the Factory Act also mandated maximum hours children could work per day, making employing children expensive as they needed double the number of children to work in shifts, which eventuated to banning shift work for children altogether (because they weren't allowed to work past certain hours making shift teams useless).
- WalterBright 6y agoMy point is the reduction of child labor hours was impossible before industrialization improved productivity. It's not until around 1800 that the population ceased to be constrained by the ability to produce food. We live in a time of amazing abundance, they did not.
- ex_amazon_sde 6y ago> My point is the reduction of child labor hours was impossible before industrialization improved productivity. Farmers worked less hours and with much less intensity than industrial workers. The incredible drop in life expectancy of farmers turning industrial workers says everything.
- baremetal 6y agoI farm in the summer and write code in the winter, or during the heat of the day in the summer. Its really a great lifestyle. I highly recommend it.
- WalterBright 6y agoYou farm these days with all the benefits of technology and mass production. You are not doing subsistence farming. Making your own soap, making your own clothes, making your own tools, chopping wood for the stove, making your own barn, etc.
- alfiedotwtf 6y agoMy family in the Philippines pretty much farm (rice and vegetables) for only a few months of the year, and the only technology they use is a few diesel water pumps. To be honest, they’re the happiest people I know
- WalterBright 6y agoDo they make their own cloth? Weave their own clothes? Make their own soap? Make their own shoes? Saw their own planks for the buildings? Make their own nails? Eat food from elsewhere than their farm? Make their own pencils? Paper? Glass? Where did their meat come from? Chop wood and tend the woodburning stove all day? (Thomas Jefferson's Monticello estate had a "nailery" where the nails were made that were needed for the buildings.) In any case, powered irrigation is a huge deal. Just imagine the backbreaking work hauling the water by hand.
- alfiedotwtf 6y ago> Do they make their own... Not quiet, as they're not subsistence farming but surplus farming. Though, it's not surplus as in big business, just enough to make it through to the next the year's crop. I don't even think they have bank accounts etc.
- WalterBright 6y agoAs I remarked, the surge in population without the food says everything.