ABSTRACT
Turning first to the broader conceptual issues, it is quite common in the United States to hear references to a "good" or "bad" community, to "community improvements," and so forth. At least at a general level, most people seem to have a moderate level of agreement about what these terms mean. Discussions of "the good community" even show up in sociology textbooks. Perhaps equally important are the changes that very few of the ranchers or farmers have talked about the changes in their local status, changes in the ways in which persons in agriculture are treated in a growing community. At least in most rural sections of the West, persons in agriculture have traditionally been the "backbone of the local economy," and they have tended to exercise a good deal of influence in local affairs. The young people of growth communities provide another illustration of the importance of including more than just economic considerations in one's thinking.
