,,theexistenceofunlimitedlaborsupplyorlabor"surplus",itispresumptuoustosaythatthepeasantsareignorantoffarmingmethods,,the"rock-bottom",lackinganexplicitbehavioralpostulate,theaverage-productargumentisinconsistentwithwealthmaximizationunderprivateownershipofresources.Thetheoryofsharetenancyderivedinchapter2providesadifferentexplanationforhigherratiosoflabortolandinAsianagriculture:thepeasants',,itistothelandowner'sinterestthatnonegativemarginaleffortis"disguised."Giventheexistingresources,crowdedfarmingistheresultofwealthmaximization,notof"irrationality."

Itisnotdifficulttoshowthat"original"theoremsorhypothesesintendedtoexplainresourceallocationin"underdeveloped",theaforementionedhypothesescanbereadilydismissedinlightofobservationsonlanduseandtheanalysts',letustakeacloserlookattheso-calledovercrowdedfarminginAsia,which"overcrowding"cannotbedeniedbyWesternstandards:

,[cane]rowsis1.39metersandbetween[cane]plants0.4meter,farmersoftenplantpeanuts,sweetpotatoes,.[2]

Examplesasintricateasthisareabundant.[3]:

ItisevidentfromthismazeofdetailontheactualuseoflandbycropsinChina,that,inspiteoftheintensiveuseofcropsforhumanutilizationdirectlyratherthanindirectlybyfirstproducinganimalproducts,stillgreaterproductioncouldbeobtained.[4]

WhileBuckisamazedbythevariousmethodsofintensivefarmingandsoilconservationinChina,,unfamiliarwiththeactualsituation,mighteasilyconsiderthecrowdedtillingwasteful,,beforetheagrarianreformsinAsia,,forexample,wherein1948thelandholdingperpersoninfarmingwasaboutassmallasonecouldfind.Aswasshowninchapters7and8,however,,,forexample,,andtheygenerallyrequireeighttimesasmuchlabortocultivate.[5]Forgoingsomemoncropsforvegetableplantingwillleadtoincreasinglaborinput,.[6]

Zeromarginalproductivityoflaborimpliesaconditionwhereitisnolongerpossibletochooseamorelabor-intensivecroptoobtainahigherine,,,too,,disguisedunemploymentcannotbederivedfromstandardeconomictheory,,however,zeroornegativemarginalproductoflaborisconsistentwiththegeneralbodyofeconomictheory.[7]Thisissobecausepetitionamonguserswillreducetherentalvalueoflandtozero,thusequatingtheaverageproductoflaborwiththewagerate(oralternativeearning).Supposethat,asdevelopmenteconomistshavetakenforgranted,,asmanyofthemare,,conditionswhichtheirhypotheseshaveimplicitlypresupposed,,aswasmentionedinchapter1,mayinfacthaveledto"dual",asanalyzedinthesecondpartofthisstudy,.