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From: walker@oberon.UUCP (Mike Walker)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Let them eat the Gross National Product
Message-ID: <132@oberon.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 4-Oct-85 22:34:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: oberon.132
Posted: Fri Oct  4 22:34:38 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Oct-85 04:18:19 EDT
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Organization: U. of So. Calif., Los Angeles
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> [Mike Walker]
> >The fact that the poor cannot afford the food is not the only limit to
> >its distibution.  Government intervention is often the primary cause
> >of misdistribution.
> 
> [Richard Carnes]
> Let's discuss some specific examples.  Of course, it is not only
> misdistribution that contributes to hunger; inefficient production is
> also a factor.  The world is capable of producing far more food than
> it now does, even with existing technologies.  In the great majority
> of cases I think one will find that the root cause of hunger is
> inequality in power over food-producing resources, and that hunger
> can only be eliminated through political and economic changes that
> redistribute this power.  Nicaragua makes an instructive case study.

I should have made myself more clear.  Government intervention not only
results in misdistibution but also discourages production.  Why should
a Nicaraguan farmer work to produce food which he must sell to the gov.
at little or no profit? [I *suspect* that the gov. then turns around and
sells it at a profit so it can obtain more Soviet Mig 25's and other farm
equipment :-) ].  Oh and some people might think your reference to them
and their farms as resources to be controlled smacks of slavery.

-- 
Michael D. Walker (Mike)
Arpa: walker@oberon.ARPA
Uucp: {the (mostly unknown) world}!ihnp4!sdcrdcf!oberon!walker
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