ABSTRACT
Whereas Chapter 5 explored the outlines of rural society after development, this chapter shifts to the kinds of subjects that inhabit such nontraditional, nondeveloped spaces and in doing so returns to the main issue in peasant studies—namely, social differentiation of the peasantry. The basic theme of this chapter is that there are two intersecting global trends. One is an inexorable cultural homogenization mediated mainly by migration, transnational capital, electronic means of communication, and the spread of mass culture as discussed in Chapter 5. The other trend is the proliferation and diversification of social types that arise and fill ever increasing new social niches. This trend toward micro-social differentiation is contrary to the overall global trend of increasing extinction of biological species.
