The Elusiveness of Rural Development Theory and Policy: Domestic and Third World Perspectives Joined

Rural development in both the Third World and the United States suffers from many perceived failures and the lack of a theoretically rich conceptual framework by which effective rural development policies can be fashioned. Drawing upon Third World development literature, a perspective for domestic rural development is suggested. Development is defined by interdependence of increasingly specialized resources in production and the interdependence of relations among differentiated social groups including the rural disadvantaged. Effective programs must expand both resource utilization and restructure social relations that hinder development. Perspectives on Development The solution to rural underdevelopment remains elusive despite an abundance of efforts to help the poor, improve education and health, build housing, and create jobs. With due respect to the fact that development has been beneficial in many particular instances, an overall assessment must conclude that rural solutions in both the developed and underdeveloped world have failed to slow the descent of rural people into the grips of poverty, let alone reach the stated development goals of eliminating rural poverty or reducing rural inequality (see for example, Rondinelli and Ruddle, 1978; Seligson, 1984; Lewis, 1986). In some cases the rural poor have suffered from development efforts, and even worse, the same kinds of development failures recur in county after county, year