http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/images/levins85.jpgRichard Levins conveys the essence of dialectical thinking through the many examples he offers of its application, in every imaginable domain. . . . Several persistent themes emerge in this chapter. One is a polemic against fixating on a single narrowly defined goal, as is done in capitalist agriculture. Obsessive concern with single crops results in depletion of soil nutrients, proliferation of pests, and reliance on toxic chemicals. Against this approach, Levins shows how a multiplicity of species and life-forms interact to maintain a healthy balance and, in particular, to reduce the need for irrigation and protect against potential infestations or scarcities. A similar argument applies against the general policy-objective of economic growth, which Levins criticizes in this chapter under the rubric of "developmentalism." A second theme is respect for the accumulated wisdom of those who have worked the land for generations. This is counterposed not against formal training as such, but against the particular kind of expert knowledge that is driven by market-based notions of efficiency, which disregard the long term. A more broadly grounded expertise, linking socio-economic considerations with those of plant science, has now become indispensable. Some of its insights may indicate a return to earlier indigenous practices that have been destroyed in the course of capitalist development. With this in mind, Levins posits a historic progression of approaches to agriculture, from labor-intensive through capital-intensive to what he calls "thought-intensive." A third theme is the rejection of false dichotomies between the local and the global. Eco-systems exist at many different levels, which interpenetrate. Changes at the micro and the macro levels are mutually dependent. While there is a place for the decentralized units beloved of anarchists (economic decentralization being crucial to local biodiversity), there are thus also spheres of policy which -- like weather patterns -- inherently affect much larger units and must therefore be addressed through centralized planning.

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