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

[Mike Lorrey]

--- Adrian Tymes <wingcat at pacbell.net> wrote:
> 
> > Everyone has a choice. Not everyone has the resolve and self
> > discipline
> > to see things through. If a company offers you and your lawyer a
> > settlement on condition of non-disclosure, it is your choice to
> > accept the settlement or not. Nobody is twisting your arm.
> 
> What if it's the only way to get food?  What if all the food
> manufacturers require the same?  You don't have to purchase food from
> them - except that you have to get your food somewhere, and not
> everyone can grow their own food.

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.

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. The question is whether they choose to grow their own food.
There is not a lack of arable land in the world. Many countries have a
surplus of it. If you choose to live someplace without such available,
that is your choice. There are no laws preventing you from moving
someplace else. Stop making excuses.

Nor is there any monolithic soylent green corporation, nor is there any
likelihood there will be. Commodity production industries tend to not
conglomerate very well. There are limits. Monsanto, even, is limited to
producing seed. If they went into business of buying up all farmland,
they'd have to not just buy up all farmland currently in use, but all
arable, unused land, AND not use the arable unused land WHILE PAYING
PROPERTY TAXES ON IT, in order to keep that unused land out of use by
others. The amount of land they'd have to buy would be in the tens of
trillions of dollars in value.

Even if Monsanto bought up all the seed companies in the world, new
competitors would spring up every day, because seeds cannot be monopolized.

Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
Founder, Constitution Park Foundation:
http://constitutionpark.blogspot.com
Personal/political blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com

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