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I agree, though the farmer I think will be a close second.
It seems to me in history some nation-state used soldiers to farm fields at a certain point ?
I would agree with that. But I wonder if we all are still assume too many givens when seeing the future.
Most of what we talked about is the distribution of remaining supply to farmers, Mil. etc.
That assumes a supply chain functioning to a great degree.
If there is no coherent 'Safe" distribution system in the country, many assumptions need to be changed.
Visualize Mexico in 10-15 years. What do you see? A functioning supply chain/distribution system for distributing goods?
Maybe not so stable. Who will get the "Distribution" of the remaining gas there? The Farmers? The Millitary? Banditos?
Oh, factor in the idea that we are already seeing people steal copper phone,powerlines. In 10-15 years (after-during the Greater Depression) Copper lines between towns, cities on those 20 - 100 miles of empty road may be somewhat at risk. Certain things stop working after that happens.
Who will get the "Distribution" of the remaining gas there? The Farmers? The Millitary? Banditos?
In 20 years it may be hard to distinguish between those last 2 categories ;)
..and not to forget the fact that 'An army runs on its stomach..'
Will the Armed Forces start planting victory gardens around their bases?
Will the exorbitant expenditures to 'Rent-a-G.I., Rent-an-MP and Rent-a-potato peeler' (KBR, Bechtel, Halliburton, Blackwater, et al..) start facing demand-destruction as their poor return-on-investment becomes unsustainable?
Bob
(edited for word-choice..)
The army seems to favor cattle farming, rather than veggies. They tend to lease out grazing rights.
At the bluegrass army depot in Kentucky, the cattle also serve as a warning of nerve gas leakage.
During the Tokugawa period in Japan, Samurai protected the fields and farmers from other armed individuals in exchange for the necessities of life. The farmer and the Samurai existed in a symbiotic relationship. Far different from the exploitative fudalism of Western Europe. The Shogunate through the loyalties of the individual Samurai provided an organization capable of repeling larger threats. When the threat was dealt with, the Samurai returned to the farms they were the protectors for. The Samurai at all times recognized the interdependence between himself and the farmer.
Absolutely, Switzerland is a historical example, though the details of who exactly plowed what field and gathered what % of potatoes or beets is not something I would like to venture into. I guess even the ‘top’ historical studies can’t sort that one out.
Today’s reassuring mantra here - Switzerland has a conscription army - is that division of labor will work: men do the hard stuff, women all the rest. The men are ready to go, in 24 hours. The hard stuff could be anything. Digging ditches, planting, etc. All that dates from ww2, and even before, and is very folksy. By such myths do we live.
This letter, PDF, short, to the NY Times in 1915, gives a bit of the very outdated flavor which sorta continues today:
link