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Economics and "Nature's Standard": Wes Jackson and The Land Institute
Indiana State University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: drichards{at}isugw.indstate.edu.
Abstract This essay introduces or re-acquaints readers with the work of Wes Jackson and The Land Institute in Salinas, Kansas. At the center of this work is an effort to develop perennial poly-culture as an alternative to industrial agriculture. The latter dominant model of food and fiber production is shown to involve severe problems in terms of short-run ecological costs and long-run sustainability. It is also argued that the perennial poly-culture model has much to recommend it to radical economists as a corrective to capitalist inefficiency. Finally, notwithstanding Jacksons facile criticism of Marx, it is argued that Marxs own writing actually anticipates Jacksons agro-ecological critique of capitalism.
First published on February 24, 2009, doi:10.1177/0486613409331424 |
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