The Agrarian Question a Century after October 1917: Capitalist Agriculture and Agricultures in Capitalism

This article addresses one of the key dimensions confronting the Russian and Chinese revolutions, that of the agrarian question for the peasantry which constituted popular majorities in each of these countries at the time of their revolutions. In commemoration of the centennial of the Russian Revolution, two challenges are presented here. The first concerns the manner through which historical capitalism has ‘settled’ the (agrarian) question in favour of minorities comprising the populations of the developed capitalist economies of the centre (about 15 per cent of the total world population). Is the reproduction of this model of ‘development’ feasible or achievable for the populations of contemporary Asia, Africa and South America? It is argued that the agrarian question of the peoples of the South can only be solved by a bold vision of socialism. The second challenge concerns the strategy of stages which I propose as a longer-term process of constructing a socialist alternative for the populations of these three continents. As it must, the new agrarian question is the key issue to be addressed in the processes of building socialism in the twenty-first century.

PROBLEMS FACED BY WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

Women constitute around half of the total world population. So is in India also. They are, therefore, regarded as the better half of the society. In traditional societies, they were confined to the four walls of houses performing household activities. In modern societies they have come out of the four walls to participate in all sorts of activities. The global evidence buttress that women have been performing exceedingly well in different spheres of activities like academics, politics, administration, social work and so on. Now, have started plunging into industry also and running their enterprises successfully. Therefore, white discussing on entrepreneurial development, if seems in the fitness on the context to study about the development of women entrepreneurs in the country.

A Case Study on the Phylogeny and Conservation of Saker Falcon

The Saker Falcon is a falconid raptor species with Palearctic distribution. It has never been a common bird in Hungary, now there are cc. 220-230 nesting pairs within the country borders. Currently total world population is cc. 19 000-34 000 individuals. Its taxonomic status is complicated. Two subspecies are distinguished (Falco c. cherrug and Falco c. milvipes); however, molecular data does not support this split. Phylogeny of the species is also not clarified, similarly to closely related raptors. There are many factors threatening the population of the Saker. One of these factors is the occurrence of the hybrid falcons. By molecular investigations more data can be gained, that could be useful in practical conservation, too.

Round Table Discussion: The Caregiver's View on Outcome Methodologies for Pharmacologic Trials in Mild, Moderate, and Severe Alzheimer's Disease

Rachel Billington: My assignment here is to give the caregiver's view, and I feel that's an awesome responsibility. Because I'm with Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), I must take a global view of this disease. We recently surveyed our members—all national Alzheimer's societies-and according to 21 early respondents, they have an estimated 15 million people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in their countries. Total population in those countries is 1.7 billion, and the total world population is 5.7 billion.

The Hawaiian Monk Seal

Discovered by seal hunters at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Hawaiian monk seal was slaughtered with such thoroughness that by the end of the century it was almost extinct. Since then it has slowly built up again to a population of about 1,200 in 1958. This is the total world population. Dale Rice studied the breeding behaviour of this monk seal when working on the albatrosses in Hawaii as a wildlife biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Service. Today he is in charge of whale research at the Marine Mammal Biological Laboratory in Seattle. The article is reproduced by kind permission from “Natural History” journal of the American Museum of Natural History.