RE: Feeding People

["Mowery, R. Neal (RNM) " <RNM@y12.doe.gov>]

Let us not ignore the benefits of reduced prices.  Jean-Marie's proposal
would cause the world's poor to pay twice as much for food than would an
open market where efficient producers can deliver their products for a
fraction of the cost.  And there is no reason to think that the subsistence
farmers that are described would ever become more efficient unless compelled
to by the market forces.  Meanwhile, with trade barriers in place, every
consumer in New Delhi must pay what is in essence a subsidy to support the
existence of the local farmers.  More of the economy would be committed to
procurement of food rather than medication, shelter, education, and
investment.  Such a subsidy, coupled with competition from other local
farmers, would not only take resources from consumers, but would likely
condemn all the farmers and their descendants to generations of poverty and
a never ending pattern of subsistence farming.

When robotics are used to produce products, some assembly line workers lose
their jobs, but the customer and the economy benefit by the reduced prices.
When telephones became more commonplace, telegraph workers lost their work.
Such is the nature of progress.

If the New Delhi farmer cannot successfully compete in the grain market,
perhaps he should grow something else.  Perhaps a perishable commodity would
be more successfully grown and marketed by local farmer than by farmers half
a world away.  Or perhaps there are too many farmers, and some need to be
taught other skills. Surely there is a need for other types of laborers and
craftsmen. 

Invariably, my comments in support of market forces draw responses
concerning the corruptness, short-sightedness, etc., of corporations.  Yet
governments, regulators, and even the UN have demonstrated that they are, in
general, no less corrupt, short-sighted, or self-serving than any
corporation.  Corporations must serve their customers and their stockholder.
Government bureaucracies need only serve those who keep them in power.

Much of Deming's ideology is based on improved economics through reducing
variation.  He spoke of how it would serve the producer, the customer and
society overall.  He wrote that some workers would be displaced, but could
be retrained and put to work at other tasks.  The same benefits apply when
the economics are improved through greater efficiency or economies of scale.
Are those benefits no longer valid? 



> * Neal Mowery - Materials Management  
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