The Conquest of BreadKropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kniaz
Philosophy
The Conquest of Bread
Kropotkin, Petr Alekseevich, kniaz
Anarchism; Communism
In Guernsey, on a total of 9,884 acres utilized, nearly half (4,695
acres) are covered with cereals and kitchen-gardens; only 5,189 acres
remain as meadows. On these 5,189 acres, 1,480 horses, 7,260 head of
cattle, 900 sheep, and 4,200 pigs are fed, which makes more than three
head of cattle per two acres, without reckoning the sheep or the pigs.
It is needless to add that the fertility of the soil is made by seaweed
and chemical manures.
Returning to our three and one-half million inhabitants belonging to
Paris and its environs, we see that the land necessary for the rearing
of cattle comes down from five million acres to 197,000. Well, then, let
us not stop at the lowest figures, let us take those of ordinary
intensive culture; let us liberally add to the land necessary for
smaller cattle which must replace some of the horned beasts and allow
395,000 acres for the rearing of cattle--494,000 if you like, on the
1,013,000 acres remaining after bread has been provided for the people.
Let us be generous and give five million work-days to put this land into
a productive state.
After having therefore employed in the course of a year twenty million
work-days, half of which are for permanent improvements, we shall have
bread and meat assured to us, without including all the extra meat
obtainable in the shape of fowls, pigs, rabbits, etc.; without taking
into consideration that a population provided with excellent vegetables
and fruit consumes less meat than Englishmen, who supplement their poor
supply of vegetables by animal food. Now, how much do twenty million
work-days of five hours make per inhabitant? Very little indeed. A
population of three and one-half millions must have at least 1,200,000
adult men, and as many women capable of work. Well, then, to give bread
and meat to all, it would need only seventeen half-days of work a year
per man. Add three million work-days, or double that number if you like,
in order to obtain milk. That will make twenty-five work-days of five
hours in all--nothing more than a little pleasureable country
exercise--to obtain the three principal products: bread, meat, and milk.
The three products which, after housing, cause daily anxiety to
nine-tenths of mankind.
And yet--let us not tire of repeating--these are not fancy dreams. We
have only told what is, what been, obtained by experience on a large
scale. Agriculture could be reorganized in this way to-morrow if
property laws and general ignorance did not offer opposition.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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