Yujiro Hayami and Yoshihisa Godo
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199272709
- eISBN:
- 9780191602870
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199272700.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared ...
More
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared towards maximizing the intensity of land use for agricultural production. The mechanism by which this 'science-based agriculture' has been transferred from developed to developing economies and how this process can further be strengthened are investigated.Less
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared towards maximizing the intensity of land use for agricultural production. The mechanism by which this 'science-based agriculture' has been transferred from developed to developing economies and how this process can further be strengthened are investigated.
Paul Mosley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the ...
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Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the political merit of being targetable on particular interest groups. One pro-poor pathway (represented by Uganda and Indonesia within the study’s sample) orientates expenditure policies towards low-incomerural producers and thus towards green revolution-type policies. A second (represented by Ghana, Argentina, Russia and, after 2006, Bolivia) orientates expenditure policies towards low-income consumers in the urban labour force, motivating a shift of expenditure towards social protection and housing expenditures. Taxation can also be reoriented for political motives towards the poor, as in Uganda, Ghana, Bolivia, and Argentina. However, taxation imposes a political dilemma because it is politically unpopular and the temptation in a weak state is to use aid rather than tax to finance expenditure, which over the long term weakens the state further. The chapter illustrates various ways out of this dilemma, including closing of tax loopholes, user charges, depoliticisation by establishment of an independent revenue authority, and politically imaginative sequencing.Less
Given political stability and the existence of a pro-poor political coalition, what actions have achieved a sustained fall in poverty? This chapter focuses on fiscal policies, which have the political merit of being targetable on particular interest groups. One pro-poor pathway (represented by Uganda and Indonesia within the study’s sample) orientates expenditure policies towards low-incomerural producers and thus towards green revolution-type policies. A second (represented by Ghana, Argentina, Russia and, after 2006, Bolivia) orientates expenditure policies towards low-income consumers in the urban labour force, motivating a shift of expenditure towards social protection and housing expenditures. Taxation can also be reoriented for political motives towards the poor, as in Uganda, Ghana, Bolivia, and Argentina. However, taxation imposes a political dilemma because it is politically unpopular and the temptation in a weak state is to use aid rather than tax to finance expenditure, which over the long term weakens the state further. The chapter illustrates various ways out of this dilemma, including closing of tax loopholes, user charges, depoliticisation by establishment of an independent revenue authority, and politically imaginative sequencing.
Stephen A. Marglin
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288848
- eISBN:
- 9780191684654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288848.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The origins of hi-tech agriculture (hta) entailed how hybrid corn (maize) was initially developed in the United States during the first three decades of this century, its commercialization in the ...
More
The origins of hi-tech agriculture (hta) entailed how hybrid corn (maize) was initially developed in the United States during the first three decades of this century, its commercialization in the 1930s, and how the traditional open-pollinated varieties of corn were slowly dominated and almost entirely replaced by their hybrid counterparts during the period between the 1940s and the 1950s. Soon after this, the idea of seed manipulation spread from the Corn Belt to Mexico, and the varieties that developed from these manipulation endeavours have served as the basis for the greatest triumphs of the Green Revolution in Mexico, India, and even in Pakistan. Such attempts were furthered by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Varied opinions have already emerged regarding whether hta should be seen as one of the successes brought about by science, or as a disaster in the making. This chapter looks into the earlier critiques that examine the interaction between the techne of farmers from various agricultural systems and the episteme of agricultural experts.Less
The origins of hi-tech agriculture (hta) entailed how hybrid corn (maize) was initially developed in the United States during the first three decades of this century, its commercialization in the 1930s, and how the traditional open-pollinated varieties of corn were slowly dominated and almost entirely replaced by their hybrid counterparts during the period between the 1940s and the 1950s. Soon after this, the idea of seed manipulation spread from the Corn Belt to Mexico, and the varieties that developed from these manipulation endeavours have served as the basis for the greatest triumphs of the Green Revolution in Mexico, India, and even in Pakistan. Such attempts were furthered by the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines. Varied opinions have already emerged regarding whether hta should be seen as one of the successes brought about by science, or as a disaster in the making. This chapter looks into the earlier critiques that examine the interaction between the techne of farmers from various agricultural systems and the episteme of agricultural experts.
Ashutosh Varshney
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239979
- eISBN:
- 9780191716874
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239979.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
On famines, Amartya Sen has produced two seminal insights: why democracies do not have famines; and why entitlement failures, not food availability decline, cause famines. The two arguments have very ...
More
On famines, Amartya Sen has produced two seminal insights: why democracies do not have famines; and why entitlement failures, not food availability decline, cause famines. The two arguments have very different methodological moorings. Exploring variation in outcome — famine in China but no famine in India — established the role of democracy, but a similarity in outcome — four famines in Asia and Africa — was the basis for the claim about entitlements. This chapter extends outcome variation as a methodological principle to Sen's theory of entitlements. The argument that emerges supports Sen's claim about entitlements, but a new famine-preventing factor can also be identified: technological dynamism in agriculture.Less
On famines, Amartya Sen has produced two seminal insights: why democracies do not have famines; and why entitlement failures, not food availability decline, cause famines. The two arguments have very different methodological moorings. Exploring variation in outcome — famine in China but no famine in India — established the role of democracy, but a similarity in outcome — four famines in Asia and Africa — was the basis for the claim about entitlements. This chapter extends outcome variation as a methodological principle to Sen's theory of entitlements. The argument that emerges supports Sen's claim about entitlements, but a new famine-preventing factor can also be identified: technological dynamism in agriculture.
Gustavo Esteva
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198288848
- eISBN:
- 9780191684654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198288848.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter attempts attempts a radical pluralist approach in analyzing the marginalization experienced by the several different knowledge systems that were utilized during the Green Revolution. The ...
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This chapter attempts attempts a radical pluralist approach in analyzing the marginalization experienced by the several different knowledge systems that were utilized during the Green Revolution. The chapter asserts that it is necessary for both modern technological measures and traditional techniques to exercise a certain degree of hospitality towards each other, since hosting another approach does not require adopting the methods of the other. Instead, hospitality embraces how these two aspects may be able to accept each other’s existence. The chapter retells the life stories of Fidel Palafox, Marte R. Gómez, and Efraím Hernández Xolocotzi, and illustrates how they reacted to and are affected by the various events brought about by the ‘Green Revolution’.Less
This chapter attempts attempts a radical pluralist approach in analyzing the marginalization experienced by the several different knowledge systems that were utilized during the Green Revolution. The chapter asserts that it is necessary for both modern technological measures and traditional techniques to exercise a certain degree of hospitality towards each other, since hosting another approach does not require adopting the methods of the other. Instead, hospitality embraces how these two aspects may be able to accept each other’s existence. The chapter retells the life stories of Fidel Palafox, Marte R. Gómez, and Efraím Hernández Xolocotzi, and illustrates how they reacted to and are affected by the various events brought about by the ‘Green Revolution’.
R. Ford Denison
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691139500
- eISBN:
- 9781400842810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691139500.003.0008
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we ...
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This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we need to pay particular attention to tradeoffs. The chapter first considers the Green Revolution, which it claims was based on reversing past natural selection, before looking at past evolutionary arms races and how they have resulted in plants, and even chickens, that compete vigorously with their neighbors for resources, even when that competition reduces their collective productivity. The chapter examines the ideas of Colin Donald and the case of the Australian wheat variety called Drysdale, and solar tracking by leaves. It also explores the tradeoff between the yield potential of a crop genotype and its ability to suppress weeds based on cooperation, group selection as a strategy for crop genetic improvement, and the role of biotechnology in understanding how plants detect crowding.Less
This chapter discusses approaches that have worked in the past in improving cooperation within species. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, with evolutionary biology at the center, it argues that we need to pay particular attention to tradeoffs. The chapter first considers the Green Revolution, which it claims was based on reversing past natural selection, before looking at past evolutionary arms races and how they have resulted in plants, and even chickens, that compete vigorously with their neighbors for resources, even when that competition reduces their collective productivity. The chapter examines the ideas of Colin Donald and the case of the Australian wheat variety called Drysdale, and solar tracking by leaves. It also explores the tradeoff between the yield potential of a crop genotype and its ability to suppress weeds based on cooperation, group selection as a strategy for crop genetic improvement, and the role of biotechnology in understanding how plants detect crowding.
Ian Coxhead and Sisira Jayasuriya
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195158984
- eISBN:
- 9780199869107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195158989.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Discusses the state of the Philippine environment by studying the trends of available data on environmental quality and natural resource degradation, and comparing them with those of other Asian ...
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Discusses the state of the Philippine environment by studying the trends of available data on environmental quality and natural resource degradation, and comparing them with those of other Asian countries. It then presents a brief review of theoretical links among environment quality, resource depletion, and development strategies and outcomes, considering Philippine data in light of this theory. Recent economic trends and policy initiatives affecting the environment and development are discussed, and simulation results indicating likely trends in economic and environmental variables under alternative policy regimes are presented. The chapter concludes with what past experience and current trends might indicate for the future of the Philippine environment.Less
Discusses the state of the Philippine environment by studying the trends of available data on environmental quality and natural resource degradation, and comparing them with those of other Asian countries. It then presents a brief review of theoretical links among environment quality, resource depletion, and development strategies and outcomes, considering Philippine data in light of this theory. Recent economic trends and policy initiatives affecting the environment and development are discussed, and simulation results indicating likely trends in economic and environmental variables under alternative policy regimes are presented. The chapter concludes with what past experience and current trends might indicate for the future of the Philippine environment.
Stephen M. Gardiner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195379440
- eISBN:
- 9780199897100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195379440.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter confronts two serious objections. According to the first, the perfect storm metaphor relies too heavily on game theoretic analysis, and so is committed to flawed, egoistic assumptions ...
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This chapter confronts two serious objections. According to the first, the perfect storm metaphor relies too heavily on game theoretic analysis, and so is committed to flawed, egoistic assumptions which make it both unrealistic and unsuitable as a basis for talking about the ethics of climate change. According to the second, the metaphor fails to appreciate the extent to which considerations of self‐interest can drive a solution by prompting both a green energy revolution and a drive towards less consumption‐oriented lifestyles that (it is claimed) will actually make people happier. The chapter argues that the perfect storm analysis can (and in the case of climate change largely does) rely on weaker assumptions than the objections suggest, and so is able to accommodate many of the criticisms. However, it also claims that taking such criticisms seriously reveals ways in which the perfect storm may be morally worse than initially apparent.Less
This chapter confronts two serious objections. According to the first, the perfect storm metaphor relies too heavily on game theoretic analysis, and so is committed to flawed, egoistic assumptions which make it both unrealistic and unsuitable as a basis for talking about the ethics of climate change. According to the second, the metaphor fails to appreciate the extent to which considerations of self‐interest can drive a solution by prompting both a green energy revolution and a drive towards less consumption‐oriented lifestyles that (it is claimed) will actually make people happier. The chapter argues that the perfect storm analysis can (and in the case of climate change largely does) rely on weaker assumptions than the objections suggest, and so is able to accommodate many of the criticisms. However, it also claims that taking such criticisms seriously reveals ways in which the perfect storm may be morally worse than initially apparent.
Yujiro Hayami
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243976
- eISBN:
- 9780191596377
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243972.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared ...
More
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared towards maximizing the intensity of land use for agricultural production. The mechanism by which this ‘science‐based agriculture’ has been transferred from developed to developing economies and how this process can further be strengthened are investigated.Less
The world has so far avoided dismal predictions by Malthus and Ricardo on the inexorable consequences of population growth with the application of science to the development of technology geared towards maximizing the intensity of land use for agricultural production. The mechanism by which this ‘science‐based agriculture’ has been transferred from developed to developing economies and how this process can further be strengthened are investigated.
John A. Mathews
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804791502
- eISBN:
- 9780804793162
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804791502.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of ...
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This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. At the same time it confronts the “inconvenient truth” that the model of industrialization utilized so far, based on fossil fuels and extensive resource throughput, cannot scale to accommodate the needs of billions more people. Since it is unthinkable that China et al should be told that they are not allowed to grow their way out of poverty, the only solution lies in finding a new development model. This book argues that such a model is indeed being pursued – a “green growth” model – and that the principal exponent of such a transformation is China itself. It argues that the transformation is occurring not just at the level of macro policies but fundamentally at the level of new energy systems, new resource circulating systems, and new systems of eco-finance channeling investment in these new directions. Against those who hold that carbon taxes and carbon markets should be allowed to lead this transition, the book points to the efficacy of China’s approach in utilizing strong state interventions to guide the system onto a new, renewable (green) trajectory, even as it grows the coal-fired (black) trajectory as well. The book is neither optimistic nor pessimistic but realist in its evaluation of the forces unleashed, constituting a vast uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is anything but determined.Less
This book starts from the observation that the rise of China, India and other newly industrializing countries constitutes a triumph of industrialization in that it is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. At the same time it confronts the “inconvenient truth” that the model of industrialization utilized so far, based on fossil fuels and extensive resource throughput, cannot scale to accommodate the needs of billions more people. Since it is unthinkable that China et al should be told that they are not allowed to grow their way out of poverty, the only solution lies in finding a new development model. This book argues that such a model is indeed being pursued – a “green growth” model – and that the principal exponent of such a transformation is China itself. It argues that the transformation is occurring not just at the level of macro policies but fundamentally at the level of new energy systems, new resource circulating systems, and new systems of eco-finance channeling investment in these new directions. Against those who hold that carbon taxes and carbon markets should be allowed to lead this transition, the book points to the efficacy of China’s approach in utilizing strong state interventions to guide the system onto a new, renewable (green) trajectory, even as it grows the coal-fired (black) trajectory as well. The book is neither optimistic nor pessimistic but realist in its evaluation of the forces unleashed, constituting a vast uncontrolled experiment whose outcome is anything but determined.
Sigrid Schmalzer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226330150
- eISBN:
- 9780226330297
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226330297.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
In 1968, the director of USAID coined the term "green revolution" to celebrate the new technological solutions that promised to ease hunger and so forestall the spread of more "red revolutions" ...
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In 1968, the director of USAID coined the term "green revolution" to celebrate the new technological solutions that promised to ease hunger and so forestall the spread of more "red revolutions" around the globe. In China, however, green and red revolutions proceeded side by side. In contrast with the technocratic vision of American agricultural science and foreign policy, the dominant position in socialist China was that science could not be divorced from politics, and modernization could not be separated from revolution. The goal of this book is to bring into view China's unique intersection of red and green revolutions through the experiences of scientists, peasants, state agents, and "educated youth." The history of what in China was called "scientific farming" offers a unique opportunity not only to explore the environmental and social consequences of modern agricultural technologies, but also to develop a critique of the fundamental assumptions about science and society that undergirded the green revolution, and ultimately to radically reposition science in social and political terms. The environmental costs of chemical-intensive agriculture and the human costs of emphasizing increasing production over equitable distribution of food have been felt as strongly in China as anywhere on the planet. However, Mao-era challenges to technocracy laid important groundwork for ongoing anti-capitalist, decolonialist, and environmentalist struggles to confront problems of hunger and sustainability in appropriately social and political ways.Less
In 1968, the director of USAID coined the term "green revolution" to celebrate the new technological solutions that promised to ease hunger and so forestall the spread of more "red revolutions" around the globe. In China, however, green and red revolutions proceeded side by side. In contrast with the technocratic vision of American agricultural science and foreign policy, the dominant position in socialist China was that science could not be divorced from politics, and modernization could not be separated from revolution. The goal of this book is to bring into view China's unique intersection of red and green revolutions through the experiences of scientists, peasants, state agents, and "educated youth." The history of what in China was called "scientific farming" offers a unique opportunity not only to explore the environmental and social consequences of modern agricultural technologies, but also to develop a critique of the fundamental assumptions about science and society that undergirded the green revolution, and ultimately to radically reposition science in social and political terms. The environmental costs of chemical-intensive agriculture and the human costs of emphasizing increasing production over equitable distribution of food have been felt as strongly in China as anywhere on the planet. However, Mao-era challenges to technocracy laid important groundwork for ongoing anti-capitalist, decolonialist, and environmentalist struggles to confront problems of hunger and sustainability in appropriately social and political ways.
Amanda Kay McVety
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199796915
- eISBN:
- 9780199933266
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796915.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century, World Modern History
The 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of foreign aid and helped to spark two decades of new international aid policies. Despite new policies and a ...
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The 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of foreign aid and helped to spark two decades of new international aid policies. Despite new policies and a devastating AIDS epidemic, the number of people living in poverty in Africa continued to increase. The world’s wealthiest countries began the twenty-first century promising to end poverty through more and better aid, but a growing number of voices argued that aid was the problem, not the solution. Academics, politicians, and even rock stars are now engaged in a heated battle over aid’s future. Ethiopia’s troubled history supports claims that bilateral aid often hinders more than it helps. It would be better for the world’s leading donor countries to alter their trade policies and practices, but that kind of change is difficult. It is easier to send money than to convince domestic constituencies to think differently about trade. Until that change happens, however, it seems likely that Ethiopia and its neighbours will continue to be plagued by poverty and hunger—the very things that Truman promised to cure back in 1949.Less
The 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine raised troubling questions about the effectiveness of foreign aid and helped to spark two decades of new international aid policies. Despite new policies and a devastating AIDS epidemic, the number of people living in poverty in Africa continued to increase. The world’s wealthiest countries began the twenty-first century promising to end poverty through more and better aid, but a growing number of voices argued that aid was the problem, not the solution. Academics, politicians, and even rock stars are now engaged in a heated battle over aid’s future. Ethiopia’s troubled history supports claims that bilateral aid often hinders more than it helps. It would be better for the world’s leading donor countries to alter their trade policies and practices, but that kind of change is difficult. It is easier to send money than to convince domestic constituencies to think differently about trade. Until that change happens, however, it seems likely that Ethiopia and its neighbours will continue to be plagued by poverty and hunger—the very things that Truman promised to cure back in 1949.
David A. Cleveland
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780520277410
- eISBN:
- 9780520957084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520277410.003.0003
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Technology and Society
The transition from foraging to agriculture—the Neolithic revolution—began about twelve thousand years ago. It changed three basic human relationships—with other species, the environment, and other ...
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The transition from foraging to agriculture—the Neolithic revolution—began about twelve thousand years ago. It changed three basic human relationships—with other species, the environment, and other humans. Through crop domestication, humans controlled the evolution of other species. Domestication makes plants dependent on humans, necessitating the second change—increased management of ecosystems for crop plants. The third change was in society and culture to support agriculture, leading eventually to cities, occupational specialization, and greater material wealth and social inequity. Subsequent revolutions advanced basic Neolithic changes, including the global spread of agriculture; the increase in fossil energy, manufactured fertilizers, and machinery with the industrial and scientific revolutions; the Green Revolution, which spread industrial agriculture to the Third World; and the biotechnology revolution.Less
The transition from foraging to agriculture—the Neolithic revolution—began about twelve thousand years ago. It changed three basic human relationships—with other species, the environment, and other humans. Through crop domestication, humans controlled the evolution of other species. Domestication makes plants dependent on humans, necessitating the second change—increased management of ecosystems for crop plants. The third change was in society and culture to support agriculture, leading eventually to cities, occupational specialization, and greater material wealth and social inequity. Subsequent revolutions advanced basic Neolithic changes, including the global spread of agriculture; the increase in fossil energy, manufactured fertilizers, and machinery with the industrial and scientific revolutions; the Green Revolution, which spread industrial agriculture to the Third World; and the biotechnology revolution.
Sigrid Schmalzer
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226330150
- eISBN:
- 9780226330297
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226330297.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
The Introduction begins by contrasting the technocratic vision for the green revolution as it was conceived in the U.S. with the radical perspective on science and politics that informed the Mao-era ...
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The Introduction begins by contrasting the technocratic vision for the green revolution as it was conceived in the U.S. with the radical perspective on science and politics that informed the Mao-era “scientific experiment movement.” It then lays out the patchwork of traditional and modern technologies that constituted “scientific farming” in socialist China. A section on source interpretation explains the challenges and opportunities afforded by the diverse array of published, archival, and interview sources for the study of the Mao era. Finally, the Introduction suggests that the political fluctuations of Mao-era China cannot be characterized as struggles between pro-science and anti-science factions. Technocrats and radicals had different perspectives on how science should work, but both groups embraced science as a core value. By the same token, excessive faith in the possibilities of science and modernization presented very similar dangers in the hands of radicals and technocrats. The radicals' insistence on putting "politics in command" of science and technology did not result in the kind of critique of green revolution technologies that was needed from the standpoint of environmental health, and it fell short also in the realm of labor and social justice.Less
The Introduction begins by contrasting the technocratic vision for the green revolution as it was conceived in the U.S. with the radical perspective on science and politics that informed the Mao-era “scientific experiment movement.” It then lays out the patchwork of traditional and modern technologies that constituted “scientific farming” in socialist China. A section on source interpretation explains the challenges and opportunities afforded by the diverse array of published, archival, and interview sources for the study of the Mao era. Finally, the Introduction suggests that the political fluctuations of Mao-era China cannot be characterized as struggles between pro-science and anti-science factions. Technocrats and radicals had different perspectives on how science should work, but both groups embraced science as a core value. By the same token, excessive faith in the possibilities of science and modernization presented very similar dangers in the hands of radicals and technocrats. The radicals' insistence on putting "politics in command" of science and technology did not result in the kind of critique of green revolution technologies that was needed from the standpoint of environmental health, and it fell short also in the realm of labor and social justice.
Ben Thirkell-White
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0011
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Indonesia and Malaysia both represent examples of the ‘new tiger’ economies of South-east Asia which, from the 1960s onward, achieved high rates of GDP growth through policies of labour-intensity, ...
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Indonesia and Malaysia both represent examples of the ‘new tiger’ economies of South-east Asia which, from the 1960s onward, achieved high rates of GDP growth through policies of labour-intensity, export orientation, heavy investment in human capital and, especially in Indonesia, strong state support for a smallholder-powered green revolution. These policies delivered not only rapid growth but some of the most dramatic falls in poverty ever experienced (from 60% to 15% in the twenty-five years after 1965, in the case of Indonesia). The political motivation underlying these policies is important in both countries, which in the 1960s were menaced by fears about food insecurity and by threats of communist takeover. Both governments, in the 1960s, established semi-authoritarian governmental structures which they looked to high rates of economic growth to legitimate. These structures privileged the rights of indigenous Malay and Indonesian, in relation in particular to Chinese and Indian ethnic groups. During the ‘East Asian’ crisis, the two countries adopted contrasted strategies, which were more successful in more protectionist Malaysia, which imposed controls on outflows of speculative capital, than, in more free-market Indonesia. After the deposition of President Suharto in 1999, there has been a democratic transition, and something of a slowing of the momentum of poverty reduction, in Indonesia.Less
Indonesia and Malaysia both represent examples of the ‘new tiger’ economies of South-east Asia which, from the 1960s onward, achieved high rates of GDP growth through policies of labour-intensity, export orientation, heavy investment in human capital and, especially in Indonesia, strong state support for a smallholder-powered green revolution. These policies delivered not only rapid growth but some of the most dramatic falls in poverty ever experienced (from 60% to 15% in the twenty-five years after 1965, in the case of Indonesia). The political motivation underlying these policies is important in both countries, which in the 1960s were menaced by fears about food insecurity and by threats of communist takeover. Both governments, in the 1960s, established semi-authoritarian governmental structures which they looked to high rates of economic growth to legitimate. These structures privileged the rights of indigenous Malay and Indonesian, in relation in particular to Chinese and Indian ethnic groups. During the ‘East Asian’ crisis, the two countries adopted contrasted strategies, which were more successful in more protectionist Malaysia, which imposed controls on outflows of speculative capital, than, in more free-market Indonesia. After the deposition of President Suharto in 1999, there has been a democratic transition, and something of a slowing of the momentum of poverty reduction, in Indonesia.
Pulapre Balakrishnan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198065470
- eISBN:
- 9780199080090
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198065470.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter examines the economic growth in India for the period 1950–64. What is distinctive about this period is that while the policy regime had remained more or less unchanged, the rate of ...
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This chapter examines the economic growth in India for the period 1950–64. What is distinctive about this period is that while the policy regime had remained more or less unchanged, the rate of growth of the economy accelerated. Economic growth is explained in terms of the wider impact of the Green Revolution. Initiated with renewed vigour in the mid-1960s, this intervention not only increased the rate of growth of agriculture, notably food production, but energized the rest of the economy via forward and backward linkages. This account was validated in an econometric investigation of inter-sectoral growth relations prior to and inclusive of the transition date.Less
This chapter examines the economic growth in India for the period 1950–64. What is distinctive about this period is that while the policy regime had remained more or less unchanged, the rate of growth of the economy accelerated. Economic growth is explained in terms of the wider impact of the Green Revolution. Initiated with renewed vigour in the mid-1960s, this intervention not only increased the rate of growth of agriculture, notably food production, but energized the rest of the economy via forward and backward linkages. This account was validated in an econometric investigation of inter-sectoral growth relations prior to and inclusive of the transition date.
Robert Hefner
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520069336
- eISBN:
- 9780520913769
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520069336.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
A rich and sensitive portrait of a changing peasantry, this study is also a general inquiry into the nature of status, class, and community in the developing world, presenting an analysis designed to ...
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A rich and sensitive portrait of a changing peasantry, this study is also a general inquiry into the nature of status, class, and community in the developing world, presenting an analysis designed to bridge the gap between village studies and social history. It describes the forces that have shaped upland politics and society from pre-colonial times to the Green Revolution today.Less
A rich and sensitive portrait of a changing peasantry, this study is also a general inquiry into the nature of status, class, and community in the developing world, presenting an analysis designed to bridge the gap between village studies and social history. It describes the forces that have shaped upland politics and society from pre-colonial times to the Green Revolution today.
Richa Kumar
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199465330
- eISBN:
- 9780199087013
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199465330.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies, Science, Technology and Environment
The third chapter begins by revisiting the story of the green revolution and placing the yellow revolution within this historical context. Recent research has shown that claims of the green ...
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The third chapter begins by revisiting the story of the green revolution and placing the yellow revolution within this historical context. Recent research has shown that claims of the green revolution saving India from the brink of famine and destitution are nothing more than well-crafted myths. Questioning doomsday theories about food and population growth, this chapter draws upon an array of scholarship that suggests access to food is a function of social relationships and entitlements of people, rather than quantitative availability. The yellow revolution is different from the green revolution because soyabean is not grown for human consumption, and it is a rainfed crop, not requiring irrigation. But it is similar in that its revolutionary narrative draws upon repudiating a similarly tragic past. The idea of revolution is a problematic frame into which agrarian change is force-fitted and its recurrent use are based on persistent myths, which this research questions.Less
The third chapter begins by revisiting the story of the green revolution and placing the yellow revolution within this historical context. Recent research has shown that claims of the green revolution saving India from the brink of famine and destitution are nothing more than well-crafted myths. Questioning doomsday theories about food and population growth, this chapter draws upon an array of scholarship that suggests access to food is a function of social relationships and entitlements of people, rather than quantitative availability. The yellow revolution is different from the green revolution because soyabean is not grown for human consumption, and it is a rainfed crop, not requiring irrigation. But it is similar in that its revolutionary narrative draws upon repudiating a similarly tragic past. The idea of revolution is a problematic frame into which agrarian change is force-fitted and its recurrent use are based on persistent myths, which this research questions.
Khushwant Singh
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195673098
- eISBN:
- 9780199080595
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195673098.003.0019
- Subject:
- Religion, Sikhism
This chapter discusses resurgence of religious fundamentalism, which brought about the renaissance of Hinduism. The Sikhs exodus in the partition had made them more vulnerable and thus ground was ...
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This chapter discusses resurgence of religious fundamentalism, which brought about the renaissance of Hinduism. The Sikhs exodus in the partition had made them more vulnerable and thus ground was prepared for sowing the seeds of separatism and revival of orthodoxy. Sikh religious revival coincided with Green Revolution. Green Revolution, aided by new varieties of seed and modern farming methods led to prosperity. The Green Revolution began in Ludhiana, the most fertile region in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The Intensive Agricultural Areas Programme (IAAP) was also first conducted in Ludhiana. The discussion then shifts to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. An outline of his start as a preacher to a pawn in party politics is provided. It shows that his early messages spoke of returning to the traditions of Khalsa Panth and renouncing the evils brought by modernism. As his popularity grew, he began to espouse the cult of violence and promote hatred towards Hindus as a means for preserving Sikh identity. The chapter concludes with Bhindranwale’s ‘hit list’, attempts to fortify Akal Takht, and beginning of Indira Gandhi’s involvement.Less
This chapter discusses resurgence of religious fundamentalism, which brought about the renaissance of Hinduism. The Sikhs exodus in the partition had made them more vulnerable and thus ground was prepared for sowing the seeds of separatism and revival of orthodoxy. Sikh religious revival coincided with Green Revolution. Green Revolution, aided by new varieties of seed and modern farming methods led to prosperity. The Green Revolution began in Ludhiana, the most fertile region in the Indo-Gangetic plain. The Intensive Agricultural Areas Programme (IAAP) was also first conducted in Ludhiana. The discussion then shifts to Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. An outline of his start as a preacher to a pawn in party politics is provided. It shows that his early messages spoke of returning to the traditions of Khalsa Panth and renouncing the evils brought by modernism. As his popularity grew, he began to espouse the cult of violence and promote hatred towards Hindus as a means for preserving Sikh identity. The chapter concludes with Bhindranwale’s ‘hit list’, attempts to fortify Akal Takht, and beginning of Indira Gandhi’s involvement.
Corey Ross
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199590414
- eISBN:
- 9780191829901
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590414.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, Social History
This chapter explores how the unprecedented transformation of tropical environments after decolonization was shaped by relationships and ideas that were fashioned, encouraged, or reinforced by the ...
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This chapter explores how the unprecedented transformation of tropical environments after decolonization was shaped by relationships and ideas that were fashioned, encouraged, or reinforced by the experience of colonialism. It considers the interactions between various actors—Western states, multinational corporations, international institutions, as well as governments and ordinary people in the ex-colonies—as a means of transcending arguments over whether recent environmental changes resulted mainly from colonial holdovers or from the actions of post-colonial elites. It begins by focusing on new attempts to modernize agriculture after independence (the ‘Green Revolution’), and how the closely related efforts of post-colonial states to harness and conserve natural resources displayed many of the fundamental characteristics of colonial practice. It then examines how the international division of labour and the multitude of trade linkages that were forged under colonial rule shaped inter-continental resource flows and ecological trends throughout the period since decolonization.Less
This chapter explores how the unprecedented transformation of tropical environments after decolonization was shaped by relationships and ideas that were fashioned, encouraged, or reinforced by the experience of colonialism. It considers the interactions between various actors—Western states, multinational corporations, international institutions, as well as governments and ordinary people in the ex-colonies—as a means of transcending arguments over whether recent environmental changes resulted mainly from colonial holdovers or from the actions of post-colonial elites. It begins by focusing on new attempts to modernize agriculture after independence (the ‘Green Revolution’), and how the closely related efforts of post-colonial states to harness and conserve natural resources displayed many of the fundamental characteristics of colonial practice. It then examines how the international division of labour and the multitude of trade linkages that were forged under colonial rule shaped inter-continental resource flows and ecological trends throughout the period since decolonization.
