Page "Shifting cultivation" Paragraph 18

The forests of Europe were destroyed by the seemingly inexorable ‘ advances ’ of civilisation, industrialisation and warfare, the sort of ‘ advances ’ that many of those who criticised shifting cultivators in the 19th century thought were desirable and indicative of “ higher cultures ”.

The same sort of processes are leading to the destruction of tropical forests in the last decade of the 20th century.

So ‘ advances ’ in civilization, now known as ‘ development ’, have not resolved these problems.

The problems are located not in the practice of a particular form of agriculture, but within the fundamental relationships that human societies have with their environments.

In complex developed economies these relationships become very elaborate and are difficult to comprehend.

However in simple economies, where agriculture is the major source of wealth creation, they can be easier to understand.