[extropy-chat] The Hidden Luddite was Re: peak oil debate

[David Lubkin]

Mike Lorrey wrote:

>It would be extremely stupid for ALL food makers to do that, because it
>automatically creates a market for non-secret food if consumers want
>it, and thus opens the door to competition.

Indeed, as we see with OPEC attempts to control the price of oil, 
this market makes it very attractive for cartel members to secretly 
break the cartel agreement.

>Everyone CAN grow their own food, if they so choose. There are, even 
>in cities, many public spaces for gardeners to have their own personal plots.

In the USSR, where all food production was ostensibly collectivized, 
many people grew food on their own, to eat or to sell, even in 
Moscow. As with many black markets, the government ignored this, 
because it was the only way to sustain the regime.


-- David.