while "lawyer Chen's" intellectual reparte may be designed to "provok
reaction", it s;hould indeed engender very useful discussion. When Frank
and Deb Popper filrst postulated the "Buffalo Commons" the conept generated
fear and rather vilolent reactions on the part of the lcal community until
some persons recognized that the ideas and ilnformation presented had a
substantive factual basis to it and that rather than proposing a concept,
they were pointing out the inevitable, under the current conditions and
that one better realize this and do something about it.
The idea of the "family farm" is just that an "idea" it s a Myth in the
grandest sense of the word- a past that never was and a future that never
will be. We ca not go back to something that never existed, except in the
mind's eye. When person's talk about the family farm in the
"present/future" they are wishing for the mytical farm with the dog wife,
husband kids etc but with the smae lifestyle and benefits of a concentrated
urban commlunity- equal schools-health care etc and equal income of the
middle class-
The American taxpayer is not ready to provide that kind of susidy- I don't
believe either directly or indirectly th;rough trade barriers, farm
subvsidies and direct taxes through food stapmps etc-- so we really have to
think about what that farm community will look like in the midwest
Also- we must, by now understand that dairy farms in New England are
different than such farms in California, the South or even
Minnesota/Wisconsin- georaphy plays a difference- Similarly soyubean and
corn farming is different in Souther Minnesota than in Illinois- So the
"uniform concpet of the family farm and what consititutes such a farm in
relative size and efficiency is different.
I guess the challenge that James Chen puts forth, as Isee it is not to
take issue with the concepts but to propose a solution to his response and
ideas-arguing whether he is right or wrong does nothing- as you suggest-
creating a possible, implementable, vision which might serve as a platform
for change within the current and foreseable socio/economic conditions
would go a long way to engender viable discussion
tom abeles
tabeles@tmn.com