ABSTRACT
T H I S IS A STUDY of economic v u l n e r a b i l i t y — of how Polynesians are
i n the g r i p of wor ld -wide economic forces, and how these forces are
fundamenta l ly a l t e r ing the i r way of l i fe . T h e Polynesians i n quest ion
are Tah i t i an s , inhab i tan t s of T a h i t i and smaller ne ighbor ing islands
w h i c h l ie i n the heart o f French Polynesia. Ne i the r i so la t ion i n the
South Pacific, nor the roman t i c aura invested i n them by philosophers
and escapists of the West, has saved T a h i t i a n s f rom intense involve-
ment i n the t w i n processes of i ndus t r i a l i za t ion and urban iza t ion .
W h i l e T a h i t i is ha rd ly a m a n u f a c t u r i n g center, i t has long been l i n k e d
to the w o r l d i n d u s t r i a l system th rough the p r o d u c t i o n and expor t of
