tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31671374.post4067265138226206111..comments2023-10-30T07:10:34.610-07:00Comments on Underbelly: The Peasants Ye Have Always With YouBucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16452321114185736762noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31671374.post-44325563973880785472012-05-12T16:03:17.889-07:002012-05-12T16:03:17.889-07:00Well, let's see. We had the Great Leap Forwar...Well, let's see. We had the Great Leap Forward, which enormously exacerbated the 1958-61 famine that killed tens of millions. From the 1980s the commune system slowly got liberalized but is still often medieval and corrupt. <br /><br />Since China's explosive export-led growth starting really in the 1990s what we have seen is a huge construction and manufacturing explosion in China's cities and this has led to a huge rural-urban migration, probably unrivaled in history over such a short time span.<br /><br />The problem now is that there may not be enough labor in rural villages to produce the food that China needs. Climate change has also exacerbated the problem, which the USA and China are now the biggest drivers of. So, just as China is driving much of the oil price increase (not Obama) so it will also start to drive up food commodity prices, which will help US farmers but not many others.Jimbohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13891331049535299222noreply@blogger.com