I would love to see a chapter on that symbol of American capitalism and cultural imperialism IOTL-namely, Coca-Cola.
I would love to see a chapter on that symbol of American capitalism and cultural imperialism IOTL-namely, Coca-Cola.
I'm still plotting out what (if anything) the "author" has to say about American fizzy drinks, but the mention of Moxie is not without some significance in terms of what I am imagining. The problem of course, in a chapter about Coca-Cola specifically would be that Coca-Cola has no special status in this world.Moxies’ minor regional alternative, cocacola, has already been mentioned in Bourbon.
Thank you, it has been corrected.The [3] is missing from the footnotes in the latest part, BTW.
On the other hand, if you managed to avoid the dust bowl or something similar, it probably means you have a more robust agriculture that hasn't fallen prey to the monoculture and soil exhaustion traps?
Unless you decide to merely delay it and have the 50s be your dust bowl equivalent wake up call about failing agricultural management. I could see that, if things remained smooth before that.
Maybe not a large dust bowl in this case but something lower intensity ?
American socialism (like socialism elsewhere, but especially Marxian socialism) was outright contemptuous of farmers and of agriculture. The American socialism of this TL is Marxian, specifically it is an ATL cousin of what would be called DeLeonism IOTL and will be called Marxism-DeLeonism here. Daniel De Leon's writings indicate that he opposed any form of farmer-laborer alliance and that he viewed farmers (even those engaged in the business of reform and of radical politics) as reactionary by default. While the possibilities of this American socialism (or any American socialism really) going full Bolshevik and instituting a neo-feudal extractive relationship with farmers are basically nil, I don't think it is hard to imagine an American socialism that at its best treats farmers and agriculture to benign neglect and at its worst actively denies them resources and tries to squeeze them out as class antagonists. That's a conceit I am sure plenty will disagree with (most of the socialist America timelines here seem to assume a rural/urban alliance including farmers succeeding) but I personally don't think it was possible.Some kind of Potato Blight or grasshopper invasion?
You know what works well for a modern industrial Socialist America that believes in knowledge of its scientists?
A new chemical fertiliser that is mixed so well and yet so badly it turns out to be a slow acting crop killer.
American socialism (like socialism elsewhere, but especially Marxian socialism) was outright contemptuous of farmers and of agriculture. The American socialism of this TL is Marxian, specifically it is an ATL cousin of what would be called DeLeonism IOTL and will be called Marxism-DeLeonism here. Daniel De Leon's writings indicate that he opposed any form of farmer-laborer alliance and that he viewed farmers (even those engaged in the business of reform and of radical politics) as reactionary by default. While the possibilities of this American socialism (or any American socialism really) going full Bolshevik and instituting a neo-feudal extractive relationship with farmers are basically nil, I don't think it is hard to imagine an American socialism that at its best treats farmers and agriculture to benign neglect and at its worst actively denies them resources and tries to squeeze them out as class antagonists. That's a conceit I am sure plenty will disagree with (most of the socialist America timelines here seem to assume a rural/urban alliance including farmers succeeding) but I personally don't think it was possible.
So by the present day in which the book is written, they absolutely get there. But like with democratic and authoritarian governments the world over, it usually takes a disaster first.American Marxism could easily be antagonistic to farmers, but I don't think that extends to a general disdain of agriculture. Instead it's likely to invest in farmworkers as the answer.
Estranged labor = alienated labor right?And this is the mustard on the rissole: Marxism effectively translated into English, not academic Frencglish
Exactly. Estrangement combines bizarre, taken away, and inauthentic all in one more common English word than “alien” pretty beautifully. Even though historical materialist marxists focus mainly on the “taken away-“ness.Estranged labor = alienated labor right?
Great question! Definitely not a Central Powers victory a la Kaiserreich (which is why the author is writing from the United Kingdom). Haven't read Glowing Dream but should. Beyond that, I don't want to go into too much detail at this time.How did American go red? Was this a Kaiserreich Reds or Glowing Dream like scenario?
Cheese was actually mentioned in two of the regional variants (the Juicy Lucy and the New Mexican burger) but good catch. Dairy is definitely less common in the American diet than IOTL. Cheeseburgers were actually invented post-POD and popularized well past the POD.Cheese is a glaring omission from the list of hamburger toppings - what’s the state of the dairy industry?
What type of socialism is being praticed? I think the most likely form is some type of council communism or syndicalism with maybe a sort of market socialism.Great question! Definitely not a Central Powers victory a la Kaiserreich (which is why the author is writing from the United Kingdom). Haven't read Glowing Dream but should. Beyond that, I don't want to go into too much detail at this time.
Cheese was actually mentioned in two of the regional variants (the Juicy Lucy and the New Mexican burger) but good catch. Dairy is definitely less common in the American diet than IOTL. Cheeseburgers were actually invented post-POD and popularized well past the POD.
Thats surely a great way to get food security and would surely not create any unforeseen problemsAmerican socialism (like socialism elsewhere, but especially Marxian socialism) was outright contemptuous of farmers and of agriculture. The American socialism of this TL is Marxian, specifically it is an ATL cousin of what would be called DeLeonism IOTL and will be called Marxism-DeLeonism here. Daniel De Leon's writings indicate that he opposed any form of farmer-laborer alliance and that he viewed farmers (even those engaged in the business of reform and of radical politics) as reactionary by default. While the possibilities of this American socialism (or any American socialism really) going full Bolshevik and instituting a neo-feudal extractive relationship with farmers are basically nil, I don't think it is hard to imagine an American socialism that at its best treats farmers and agriculture to benign neglect and at its worst actively denies them resources and tries to squeeze them out as class antagonists. That's a conceit I am sure plenty will disagree with (most of the socialist America timelines here seem to assume a rural/urban alliance including farmers succeeding) but I personally don't think it was possible.