Since the beginning of human life on earth there has always been a need for making a living. Until 10,000 years ago man survived by utilizing the adaptive strategy of foraging, where people wandered around the earth searching for provisions of any kind. Because of this dependency upon nature to provide for their needs, it led naturally to the next step of human procurement: cultivation.
Two types of cultivation developed; horticulture and agriculture, both of which still exists today in industrial and non-industrial societies. Horticulture or "shifting cultivation" is the simpler of the two methods and utilizes a "slash and burn" technique for land clearing. The land is used to the point of soil exhaustion at which the family simply moves on to another plot of land. Agriculture, the more complex of the two, involves the use of modern machinery, irrigation, and mass manpower to cultivate a single plot of land continuously. Because of this, families can now have a permanent home and a more stable lifestyle.
As societies began to modernize, a new means of procurement was introduced and today's economic system was born. The purpose of this economic system was to optimize the means of production. In other words, to take into account the land, territory, labor and technology needed in order to produce a product and optimize that process.
Time has changed the way people go about making a living in terms of food production. With the information from chapter six and your own personal knowledge or experience, compare and contrast the means of producing food through cultivation (either horticulture or agriculture) or within our current economic system. Make a choice on which you would personally like to see our society gravitate towards and tell us why you would like to see this change made.
For example would you prefer to be part of an industrialized economic system that utilizes of machinery and technology? This allows for effective mass production but on the other hand this also forces the worker as an individual to live in a more rigid work routine. Due to the concept of specialization a person would have the responsibility of just one simple task which he/she must perform all day.
Monday, October 8, 2007
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27 comments:
I found this chapter very interesting because we see so many contrasts to our ways to make a living in the United States. Not only do we see how people in non-industrial nations acquire foods in their own way, but we also see that in many other places, money is not the driving force behind life. We see accounts of people who are satisfied with just meetings their basic needs to sustain life, as opposed to the greed and desire to accumulate as much material goods as possible such as in the United States. It is refreshing to see the the practice of potlatching, to see that some tribes still value cooperation and consideration for others instead of being selfish. If Americans followed suit and saved the food that they just throw away or overindulge on, we would be able to feed hungry or starving people in other parts of the world.
This chapter gives you the pros and cons of living in an industrial and non-industrial society respectively. However, it is obvious to me that non-industrial nations have a clear advantage from a human point of view. Although an industrialized nation such as the U.S has been economically stable by having a mass production of goods and services over the past years, money and materialism have taken over the American society. On the other hand, non-industrial nations still carry that sense of balanced reciprocity where people give way something without expecting anything back. I'm not saying that industrial economies should go back to agriculture, horticulture or even foraging; but it'd be good to find a middle point where human values come before money and materialism in order to make a living
-Mike Dunn-
I found chapter 6 to be very interesting because it brought up alot of different "drives" that certain people may have. It gives alot of information about industrial and non-industrial societies. What I found most interesting about chapter 6 is the difference in the purposes of working. For instance, in industrail societies, many people work to gain money to satisfy their materialistic and superficial needs. In non-industrail societies, people who work are happy with the amount of money they make, and do not feel the need to work for money, if they already have everything they want. I think that America, as an industrial country, can highly benefit from learning about non-industrial socities because it can teach us that we do not need materialistic things to survive in life. If we do not have these material goods, it does not mean that we are less accomplished or less of a people.
Toni, i think your wrong ok...chapter 6 is boring, and the only reason why you said it was interesting is because you did it as a project...i know ya kind
I agree with the entrepeneur, I think the chapter was a bit boring. I think that's because being from NYC people don't usually see farms and people working like that in fields, however I do think it was a bit interesting to read about the ways societies in non industrial nations work and are able to get by.
My grandparents had a farm where they lived. They used whatever they grew as food and sold what they had left for money. Sometimes they would even barter the things they grew and trade them for other things they needed. Industrial nations do make more money over the non industrial nations but industrial nations depend on people to buy whatevers produced and the agricultural nations don't need to rely on anyone but themselves. They can live off the land and support themselves.
This chapter establishes how industrial nations are money driven unlike non-industrial nations. I admire how non-industrial societies don't depend on anyone else. However, I found this chapter to be a boring read, most likely because living in an industrial society has become commonplace as amarelis said.
I felt that this chapter opened my mind to how the other half of the world strive to survive. I never knew there were so many techniques that are useful for many different people. I personally felt that this was new to me because I have always lived in the United States, where industrialism is dominant. I always knew about agriculture, but I also learned about irrigation, redistribution and so much more. In my native country, I would have to say that both agriculture and industrialism take place and help out. Although the chapter was long and a bit boring, it really taught me alot.
I agree with CLopez89 that the chapter did teach me something new about other societies and the foundation for our society which in face was agriculture and horticulture. Whether i would like to like in an industrial society or non industrial i would defiantly say industrial. Technology is there to make our lives easier and actually gives us power in a large society, to talk online about our opinions is one of those powers. Then some people say that technology entails a separation between the individual and nature. I would have to disagree with this because not only is technology made by humans who are part of this world, which means technology is now part of the world but with the presence of technology we get to truly appreciate nature. What i mean is that if we look at our city we see our home, when a native from the amazon looks at the city he sees a jungle, in turn we look at the amazon and see it as a jungle. You have to take into account what other people might think of our society in order to understand how we live.
Reviewing most of the comments i can see that most of the people admire the non-industrial societies. Although they may admire the aspect that industrial societies neglect, i doubt any of them would want to live the lives that are presented in this chapter. Although i have great respect for what the non-industrial societies do, i personally do not believe any of our students would be willing to live that lifestyle.
I found this chapter interesting because in my native country I can still see a lot of farms, agriculture beside industry. In my point of view people can not live without agriculture also can not live without industry.It should be balanced,if it is not balanced like U.S we will keep paying a lot of money to vegetables and fruits.prices are triple here,than the other countries. The chapter was a lil bit long, but it was interesting,
I couldnt agree more with the entrepreneur. I had trouble finishing this chapter, due to the fact that I wasn't interested in the majority of the reading. Oh, and time out, how great is Xue. She really made our group what it was, and brought a lot of knowledge to the table. What a presentation. Matt barely talked because Xue had so much valuable stuff to say. Good Job Xue!
THATS WHATS UP STEVE...OH YEAH GIANCARLO, I THINK EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSES ALREADY, WE DONT NEED ANY OF THE SAME INFO BEING POSTED ON THE BLOG...AND WHATS WITH MS. G'S QUIZZES? AM I THE ONLY ONE THAT NOTICES THAT SHE GIVES THE ANSWERS AFTER WE WORKED SO HARD, AND THEN PEOPLE CHANGE THEIR RESPONSES TO RECEIVE A 100 FOR A GRADE?...OH YEAH, PEOPLE ARE ONLY POSTING COMMENTS BECAUSE MS. G IS GETTIN ON YA CASE...(SHAKIN MY HEAD) AND HOW BORING IS THAT MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS BOOK, I SO DIDNT PLAN FOR MY FRESHMAN YEAR TO BE THIS WAY...THE GIRLS ARE AWESOME AND CHAPTER 7 ISNT...AM I RANDOM? I SURE HOPE SO
[FYI: WRITING IN ALL CAPS SIGNIFIES ANGER IN ONLINE COMMUNICATION]
I was DISTURBED by the nature of a couple of the posts on the blog since Tue. I need your to hear my feedback as a CONTRIBUTION not as a CRITICISM given what we are up to in this course -- LEARNING not gossiping or treating each other as anything other than adults.
Suggesting that students are cheating or that I would allow such a thing to continue is disappointing. If this is true (a fact), the person suggesting it should have come to me. If it's hearsay or an opinion, this is even more DISTURBING to me and your fellow classmates.
THIS IS NOT THE INTENTION OF THE BLOG to air concerns about the class!
THE ONLY INTENTION IS TO GENERATE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE TOPICS IN THE BOOK OR RELATED TO LEARNING ABOUT CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY.
PLEASE REVIEW P. 5 FROM YOUR SYLLABUS. This item in particular seems apropos to my concern:
3. Be an adult and expect to be treated as an adult. Be responsible for doing what you know to do and being in communication when you know you will not be doing it as intended or on time. [I NEED TO ADD FROM NOW ON DOING WHAT YOU KNOW WOULD BE EXPECTED OF YOU IN A COLLEGE COURSE]
6. Do not gossip (i.e., about the instructor, a fellow classmate, or any member of our class behind their back in class or out)
8. Share your upsets or concerns [INCLUDING CHEATING] as soon as possible but no later than 72 hours from the incident. Be in communication with Professor Gaunt after class, during office hours, by phone or by appointment.
In my opinion id rather live in a more agricultural world, with little technology for mass production. Sure the world be boring technology wise however the world would be a better place, in terms of environment settings. The pollution would be minimized and since everyone would have to do some deal of manual labor obesity might not even be an issue. However there would be some downsides to this kind of lifestyle, for example individuals would most likely have to live farther away from each other because a good amount of land would be needed for production of goods and such as food and cattle. Plus whats so bad about people having a professional trade, nowadays there really aren't a lot of carpenters, blacksmiths, and other trades learned through becoming an apprentice of someone of that trade. What do you think of my opinion class?
YOU KNOW FELLOW BLOGTHROPOLOGISTS, I HAVE NO INTENT OF MAKING ANY EMEMIES, NOR DO I WANNA ANTAGONIZE ANYONE...I SIMPLY CAN RECALL THAT I VIEWED BLOGS AS RANTS AND A PLACE OF CONVERSATION. I APOLOGIZE FOR DISTURBING ANYONE THAT SHARED A COMMENT WITH THE CLASS. MY INTENTIONS WERE TO MAKE FRIENDS AND HAVE FUN AT THE SAME TIME. LEARNING ISN'T AN EASY PROCESS, AND I WAS SIMPLY WAS TRYING TO ENJOY IT ALONG THE WAY...AS FOR MS. G, I DIDNT READ THE SYLLABUS AND I WAS WRONG FOR VIOLATING THE RULES ON THE SHEET. ALSO, I WRITE IN CAPS BECAUSE IT LOOKS NICER TO ME, NOT BECAUSE I AM ANGRY. I HOPE THIS DOEESNT COMPLETELY CHANGE YOUR VIEWS ON ME BBECAUSE I DO HAVE A DESIRE TO LEARN AND PARTICIATE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE CLASS. IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER NECESSARY THINGS I MUST DO TO SHOW MY APOLOGIES, LET ME KNOW...DIRECT APOLOGIES GO TO GIANCARLO, MS. G, AND TONI...
I found this chapter interesting. I didn't know anything about the other types of production like horticulture. I didn't really even know what agriculture really is. This chapter gave me some much needed knowledge. I would much rather live in an agricultural society rather than a horticultural society. Other than me knowing nothing other than living in an agricultural society, I would not like living in a society where you would have to move around and hunt for food. An agricultural society is definitely for me.
The info. in Chapter 6 was dead and boring, since i already learned it all back in my country. But it was still interesting because Prof G. always keeps the class interesting
But in the end, I'd rather live in a society with agriculture....It just makes more sense that way...
The chapter wasn't boring at all. There is pretty much interesting information. Despite I have read most of this info, it doesn't make it less interesting, and I especially like the part about potlaching
Have read before in the last sentence
I can't imagine not living in an industrial society. I love the city life. When ever I go upstate or to a more rural area, I often find myself bored most of the time. I'm sure there are lots of great things about living on a farm, but it's just not for me.
I actually did not find this chapter to be very thought provoking. It seems more like a history lesson. But, isn't it interesting that now humans have food production, we still can not find a suitable method to feed the poor.
Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change. -- Muhammad Ali
It is really hard for me to just imagined living somewhere else than a big city.In fact,i have known 3 different cities in my life,Paris(where i was born and mostly raised,Beyrouth where i stayed almost 2 years because my father is from there and NY where i have just arrived to continue my studies)Even though these cities are all different i always feel safe in big cities because im probably used to it.I can't even imagine live outside of big cities so i don't want to think about an nonindustrial society i really wants to point out the fact that we are the results of our environments and it's really hard to get used to new habits.
I found chapter six to be a very interesting chapter. After reading the chapter I was left with a better understanding of different ways in which people make money. When asked if I would like to be apart of a non-industrial or an industrialize society. I would definitely have to say that I would prefer to be apart of an industrialize society. The reason why I feel this way is because, machinery as well as technology make it easier for people to complete everyday routines. Technology allows for a more comfortable lifestyle.
~*Ashley Wright*~
being that i am from a coutry that widely uses agriculture, id more prefer to live in an idustrialised economic system. WHY? much of my family has worked on agricultural fields and working on the fields is a hard job. Id rather live the easy way; let the machines do the work. In the end, however, it all is based on socieites needs for crops. for example, in a society such as America, demand is high, so the pace of production needs to be fast.
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