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[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 11 points 6 months ago

There's a larger issue of paltering within the previous statement in that it artificially limits the time span under scrutiny and to the headline famines (rather than sum totals) to railroad a specific political inference in service of an anti-collectivist meme.

[-] recapitated@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

I'm just trying to support cooperation with the idea of starting small with our friend who isn't ready to think big about it yet. I think people need to experience immersive demonstrations to understand the amplification power of cooperation.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

That's certainly commendable but it ignores the power of easily repeated lies.

There is great value in earnest discussion. It, however, requires all sides to be ingenuous. If someone's opening gambit is calculated artifice then all you are doing is giving them soapbox from which to bend pliable minds to their regressive agenda. By all means try to draw them into open discussion but only within a framework of honest representation.

[-] roscoe@startrek.website 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I'm not agreeing with op but for this meme it does make sense to limit the timeframe. Production and worldwide logistics have only recently given us the ability to feed everyone on earth reliably and consistently.

Two hundred years ago a surplus in Argentina couldn't easily be applied to a failed crop in Bangladesh. The world as a whole now produces more than enough food and we have the ability to transport it from anywhere to anywhere. We just don't do it. In the past hunger sometimes couldn't be avoided, now it could.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

It's true that the transport system is much faster and reliable now than the 1840’s but you didn't need a Prime subscription to lift a famine. Transport back then was still fast enough.

The conditions that cause famines lasted multiple seasons/years and they didn't drop in over night either. Famine struck areas slide into scarcity slowly as the price of the cheapest food available rises above what is affordable by the poorest in that society.

In some areas, such as the Irish potato famine in the 1840’s, there was still a surplus of food being exported to markets that could afford it. Aid, when it eventually arrived in Ireland came from Britain, USA, Indian Ocean, France, Canada, West Indies, Australia, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, south America, Russia, Latin America, the Ottoman Empire, Spain, Portugal and other British Dependencies. The world was much more connected back then than you may be aware.

[-] trafalgar225@lemmy.world 3 points 6 months ago

Thank you for the links.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

It does make sense to limit at least when there's socialist states if you want to compare capitalist states to socialist ones.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Only if you wanted to hide all the earlier famines that happened under capitalism under the tenuous argument that there's some overarching uniformity of development, opportunity, meteorological events, natural disaster etc etc worldwide that allows for fair comparison within the same timeframe.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

It just doesn't make sense to compate two completely different timeframes as-is.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

On the contrary. There is no cognizant reason to limit the timeframe other than to bury relevant facts unfavorable to anti-left rhetoric.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

I thought the point was to compare the two. Wouldn't make sense to give one a much longer timespan in the comparison.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

That would only make sense if there was some tangible link between the occurance of famines and the passing of time. But there isn't really. There is to things like war, drought, flooding, epidemics, vermin infestation, mis-management, a country's degree of development etc etc. If you want to make some qualitative comparison between systems of government then use those not some superficial framing set to prejudice the outcome.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

But when we're comparing occurrences numerically, of course time matters into it. In comparable time and preferably situations, how many occurrences you'd have.

Skewing the comparison by using two totally different time frames seems just weird ngl. What would be the point, unless you want some specific result

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Skewing the comparison by using totally different countries with totally different situations seems weird ngl. What would be the point, unless you want some specific result.

Russia and China both had an unfortunate history of famines before any pesky revolutionairies popped their heads up. Examining a longer time period reveals this highly relevant fragility. Also the facts that both of these huge countries were badly underdeveloped at the time of their revolutions: And the period you wish to limit it to had both of the world wars and the extended periods of international instability associated with them: And both countries suffered invasions and other unusual external pressures over a long period of time. These are relevant factors.

Limiting the time frame for a comparison based solely on a summation of deaths is a leading, manipulation of the study of the phenomena of famines.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 6 months ago

Preferably you actually would use the same countries and times, if you could. I'm not sure how you think comparisons usually work lol. You'd try to keep the comparison as similar as possible.

I'm sorry but I feel like you're trying to arrive at a certain conclusion rather than doing an honest comparison.

[-] Hamartia@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Limiting by time period and a crude summation of deaths is a dishonest framing for any discussion regarding how one political system may be more the catalyst for famine than another. It is basic correlation vs causation. By all means make a cognizant argument that shows how these limits can promote a fair comparison of the political factors that influence a countries descent into famine. I would like to hear something from you that amounts to more than some article of capitalist (bad) faith. I feel that you will struggle to do so because you are not interested in making an earnest effort to understand famine just in weaponising contrived stats.

this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2023
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