[PEN-L:5028] New version: Wealth Poverty, Sustainable Dev.

[David Barkin <dbarkin@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have placed the paper whose abstract appears below on an
easily accessible gopher at: csf.colorado.edu
environment/Authors/Barkin.David  as two files (May95 and biblio)
I would very much appreciate your comments and feedback on its
content and usefulness.

David Barkin  barkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana
Xochimilco, Mexico City

ABSTRACT
Wealth, Poverty and Sustainable Development
David Barkin, 1995 (29 pp. + 11 pp bibliography)

     The reorganization of space and resources, engendered by the
internationalization of rural production, is threatening the
environment and the viability of rural communities. The poor, who
are blamed for environmental problems, are frequently forced into
depredatory situations by the ruthless way in which the rich and
powerful defend their control. This duality characterizes the world
system as a whole and is not conducive to sustainable development.
Official development practice emphasizes the search for economic
efficiency, noting the natural destruction in areas occupied by
poor people; it seeks solutions through market-led structural changes,
removing people from their rural communities, and supporting large-scale
commercial and export agriculture to stimulate growth. In contrast, a
successful sustainable development policy must recognize the
polarized character of society and generate conditions that allow
poor people to strengthen their rural societies by rebuilding and
diversifying their productive systems while expanding the environmental
stewardship services they have always provided.