Power and Dependence Between the Core and Rural Communities: Participating with Major Actors in Solving Local Problems

The changing world system is causing core actors, such as multinational corporations and national governments, to reform their activities in rural communities. Since core organizations have more capacity to affect rural communities than rural communities have to affect core organizations, rural communities are impacted as the core goes through changes. Leaders and community development practitioners in rural communities need to develop strategies for coping with this dependence in order to retain the viability of their communities. This study presents several proposals for dealing with power differentials and finding solutions to local problems. People in rural communities should engage in discourse on these issues, join forces with people in other communities, work to change the system, interact jointly with core actors, and find ways to be more self-reliant in certain sectors.