ABSTRACT
Schumpeter emphasizes the process of 'creative destruction' as the major feature of a market economy. He argues that the creation and adoption of new ideas and ways of doing things often displace business firms, managers, and employees of existing products or production methods. This chapter explains how issues become polarized, and in many cases remain in a state of gridlock. The polarization model provides an explanation of the causes, consequences, and major features of polarization in the food and agricultural sector. The model is based on economic determinants, but includes many characteristics of an issue that are often considered to be 'noneconomic'. The economic approach to adoption rates can be extended to form an explanation of how issues in food and agriculture become polarized. In agriculture, economic conditions and societal values can have large effects on technological adoption.
