The Centrality of Agriculture: Between Humankind and the Rest of Nature

Daniel M. Kolos is president of Benben Books, a company publishing
scholarly works.

This compelling and highly readable book uses an abundance of
methodology—ecological, historical, institutionalist, and Marxist—to
help socialism catch up to the post-industrialist era. The author’s
thesis—that agriculture should occupy a central place in every
culture—is both noble and practical. In Canada and other Western
nations, Duncan contends, “socialist” governments have paid more
heed to international trade agreements and financial considerations than
to local ecological conditions and social needs. In response, the
practitioners of agriculture have distanced themselves from culture by
becoming increasingly engaged in the financially motivated world of
agri-business.

At a time when the profit motive has become the only measuring rod for
governments (in the form of deficits), businesses, and individuals,
Duncan’s is one of many voices to expose the lie that gives the profit
motive its momentum. His version is blunt: “People imagine or hear
that we live in a ‘market system’ but actually we inhabit a loosely
integrated arrangement whereby government military spending in a few key
countries underwrites the fundamental viability of corporate activity
(both industrial and financial) while also including a ‘safety net’
for victims of the shifting allegiances of industrial investors.”

Duncan directs his analyses and advice at socialists, because in his
view they are most likely to seek a future society that will be both
desirable and sustainable. The people who are falling through the safety
net in ever increasing numbers will, perhaps, return to the earth and
begin to till it.