Dexter's Transcript

Resident Robot Historian: Dexter (#012322)
Human User: __________ (ID #________)
Document Type: Transcription
Document Number: #0011
Date of Knowledge Transfer: April 1, 2009
Topics Accessed: El Nino, droughts and famines, Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis and Mike Davis’ agenda in relation to early 20th century.

Transcript:
Dexter: Hello inquiring mind. My name is Dexter. I am your local robot historian. What is your name?
Dexter: Thank you. What historical topic may I help you discover today?
Dexter: Thank you. You have selected El Nino. El Nino is a term that generally describes “the warm phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation” with sometimes catastrophic ecological impacts. El Ninos have been linked to several large scale and devastating global droughts around the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The three successive global subsistence crises were exploited by European, Japanese and American imperial empires in order to gain new colonies, acquire indigenous communal land, and gain cheap sources of labor. The large scale droughts had a devastating human toll that was probably no less than thirty million. An important book about the reasons behind the great famines and subsequent loss of life is Late Victorian Holocausts by Mike Davis. Would you like to know more about Mike Davis and his book?
Dexter: You have said yes. Please be aware that many of Mike Davis’ views are controversial and contain emotional, graphic and possibly disturbing content. In Mike Davis’ book, Late Victorian Holocausts, the author calls the previously mentioned famines the secret history of the nineteenth century. Davis contradicts previous economic histories of the period that classified regions like the Indian Deccan, China, and northeast Brazil as “lands of famine.” Instead, Davis argues that these regions were rather prosperous and self-sufficient before being forcibly integrated into the world market economy and the so-called golden age of Liberal Capitalism.
Dexter: Integration into the world economic system caused cultural degeneration and the widespread disruption of indigenous institutions. Land and labor were turned into commodities and millions of people died when communities were unable to support the exploitative policies. Davis argues that absolute scarcity was never the problem. Rather, new commodity markets, price speculation and imperial exploitation led to the famines. Peasants starved because the very grain they needed and helped produce was too expensive for them to purchase and was instead exported for profit. In addition, exploitative agricultural practices often contributed to ecological degradation which exacerbated hardship when drought struck. The exploitative imperial actions and policies of the British combined to create a social vulnerability to possible climatic events and thus, Davis concludes that famines are social crises “that represent the failures of particular economic and political systems.”
Dexter: An important thing to understand about Mike Davis is his strong conviction that the western imperial powers in the nineteenth century were responsible for the creation of the “third world.” Davis singles out this period of forced imperial integration as the point when, “humanity had been irrevocably divided.” He argues that the mass deaths from the famines in the late nineteenth century were policy choices and thus it is “necessary to pin names and faces to the human agents of such catastrophes.” Davis powerfully illustrates his view of the famines deaths as being systematically orchestrated by his use of the word holocaust. Also included in his book are numerous illustrations of famine victims that “are thus intended as accusations not illustrations.”
Dexter: As evidenced by Late Victorian Holocausts, Mike Davis writes history with a very clear and powerful political polemic in mind. This form of history fits nicely with Bruce Mazlish’s definition of global history where a clear political agenda is essential and has policy implications in a world experiencing globalization.
Dexter: What would you like to do now?
Dexter: You have chosen to seek connections between Mike Davis’ work and current events or trends. Is this correct?
Dexter: Indian children are still dying in large numbers because of malnutrition and starvation. The deaths are described as a “national shame” by their Prime Minister in an otherwise “proud democracy.” If we believe Mike Davis, we can trace the cause of India’s continued suffering to the late nineteenth century and its forced integration into the world economy. Prior to English imperialism Indian society prevented widespread famine through various local institutions and cultural obligations. However, British imperialism destroyed these reciprocal institutions and customs and replaced them with extractive policies and economic structures that have left a legacy of exploitation and starvation in their wake.
Dexter: This legacy is still being felt in India even though India is no longer under direct British rule. Amartya Sen, an Indian Nobel prize economist, says “hunger [is] not enough of a political priority here.” Despite being free of British imperialism, India is still prisoner to western capitalism and global market demands. A possible historical connection is the fact Britain exploited India through very few actual British officials in the country. Instead, the British exploited the masses by imposing new economic and social structures that, willingly or unwillingly, caused other Indians to practice exploitative capitalistic actions.
Dexter: The destruction of systems of mutual obligation and a moral economy are still resonating in India and other third world countries. Many in India blame child hunger on a corrupt and uncaring bureaucracy. In China, as prosperity increases by adopting a more market driven economy, so does health care concerns. This trend shares some similarities to the destruction of traditional institutions of reciprocal well-being and moral economy in China was undermined by the British. The British prospered at Chinese expense. In fact, the suffering of the rural poor and the reinstitution of water conservancy were major issues that the Communist Party seized upon when they rose to power. However, any progress in terms of re-instituting systems of mutual obligation is again under fire and in need of renegotiation with China’s increasing presence in the global market economy.
Dexter: Next, we go to Chile. The small Chilean town of Quillagua is an example of communities suffering from the commoditization of resources. Buying and selling water rights are pervasive in Chile and are not considered public resources. Chile’s water rights trading system was hailed by economists as a model of free-market efficiency when it was established in nineteen-eighty-one. However, it was led to speculation and control by large private industrial entities. These entities are profit driven, like the British in Davis’ account, and are not bound by cultural or societal standards to prevent suffering. Like the case studies in Davis’ book, Chilean peasants are victim to the loss of communal resources and monoculture. The water is essential for Chile’s cash crops whose profits will benefit the large companies who own the water rights, not the peasants who are suffering from a lack of water. Like Davis says, “the entitlement to water thus openly became a relation of inequality and a means of exploitation.”
Dexter: The last connection I can provide you right now to Mike Davis and his book comes from Ukraine. In the early 1930’s millions of Ukrainians died from famine. Only recently has this secret history come out. Like the famines in India, Brazil and China, the one in the Ukraine can also be deemed a holocaust. In fact, a Ukrainian historian named Stanislav Kulchytsky, was ordered by his Soviet superiors to depict the famine as an unavoidable natural disaster and absolve the Communist Party of any involvement. The historian refused and his actions have allowed the truth to come forth. Like Davis and his assessment of the late Victorian famines, Kulchytsky found evidence that showed the famines were man-made. “The famine is known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor – literally, death or killing by starvation.” Whereas Davis uses the word holocaust to describe the famines in his book, the Ukrainian term lends an added dimension of empathy because of its culturally specific nature and ownership. In fact, the event is playing a significant role in the country’s ongoing quest to shape a national identity. Like the events depicted in Davis’ book, Kulchytsky says the stories of starvation, cannibalism and suffering from the famine are hard to read. However, he says it is important for the country to be reminded of its past. Ukraine’s president agrees and has even tried to make denying it a crime. Ukraine has erected a memorial for the victims of the famine even as Russia, including many Russian historians, continue to deny any wrongdoing. Even if a memorial seems insignificant in light of the death of millions, it is an essential step to acknowledging the many previously secret histories that Davis calls the “missing pages” of history.
Dexter: Unfortunately, your time has expired. If you would like to buy more knowledge please purchase more credit. It is a global economic recession you know. Even robots have to eat.


Photos:
Nasa El Nino Image:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/images/content/67131main_ninoWebM.jpg
El Nino Map:
http://www.sbg.ac.at/ipk/avstudio/pierofun/atmo/el-scans/el-nino1.jpg
Mike Davis Book Cover:
http://server40136.uk2net.com/~wpower/images/product_images/9781859843826.jpg
Mike Davis Photo:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/graphics/images/davis.jpg
India Map:
http://www.geocities.com/tour_map/tour_map/india_map.jpg
China Map:
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/countries_map/map-picture/china_pol96.jpg
Brasil Map:
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/south-america/brazil/images/brazil-map.jpg
Brazil Slum:
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/brazil-estrutural-slum.jpg
Indian Starving Kids:
http://www.fathom.com/course/10701057/139_famine.jpg
Indian Famine:
http://www.doublestandards.org/photos/family.jpg
Kipling Illustration of British Self Image:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fathom.com/course/10701057/139_famine.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fathom.com/course/10701057/session3.html&usg=__z4bDh0Xs0xshoBZ-0ruiqs2kpfo=&h=217&w=296&sz=28&hl=en&start=52&sig2=PIpSTGI3pSE4Y6pw6EblrQ&um=1&tbnid=1affJ3-tF6hjhM:&tbnh=85&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmike%2Bdavis%2Bholocausts%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS305%26sa%3DN%26start%3D36%26um%3D1&ei=HkDTSaT8L5PWlQefs_yjBQ
Ukraine Famine:
http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/Ukraine_Famine.jpg
Chinese Famine Relief 1:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=e7623fa929c225bb&q=famine%20relief%20china&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfamine%2Brelief%2Bchina%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS305%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1
Chinese Famine Relief 2:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?q=famine+relief+china&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfamine%2Brelief%2Bchina%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1G1GGLQ_ENUS305%26sa%3DN%26start%3D18%26um%3D1&imgurl=045b35b73f8cf6f4
Ukraine Stalin Coverup Political Cartoon:
http://media.hoover.org/images/digest-2008-01-ellman.jpg
Holodomor Monument:
http://www.ukemonde.com/holodomor/monuments/holodomorsvichky
Ukraine Famine Memory:
http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/071125/071125_ukraineFamine_vlg4p.widec.jpg
Ukraine Starving Children:
http://blog.kievukraine.info/uploaded_images/5955-790945.jpg
India Malnutrition Photos:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/13/world/asia/13malnutrition.html
Chilean Water Photos:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/world/americas/15chile.html
Ukrainian City Memorial Photo:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/world/europe/16kiev.html