Reflections on my great tomato ideological experiment that I blogged about earlier, in which I compared my garden experience with a heritage tomato (representing crunchy, traditionalist conservatism) to a hybrid tomato (representing progressive, free market conservatism). . . .
Both tomatoes fulfilled their nature. The hybrid was bigger, stronger, produced more fruit, and that earlier. The agri-scientists were breeding tomato plants for just these qualities, and they were successful. Such advances in botany have made starvation technologically obsolete, though starvation still happens out of political and economic dysfunctions. The heritage plant was unimproved. Progress is progress. Tradition, though, has its virtues.
Those who go the traditionalist way can expect to be beleaguered, hard-pressed, and to remain small scale. Success will take more work than going along with the times. The fruit, though, will be worth it.
I suspect this holds true for gardening, for politics, for life styles, and for religion.
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