ABSTRACT
Rural areas are moving beyond their parochial and limited roles framed solely by their local economic base to communities with a genuine stake in the international economy. There are a series of new global realities that are so deeply affecting the nation that they are altering the understanding of rural development. The entire rural development process is being recast by a series of global realities that affect rural communities different ways. Wealth creation is no longer based on available rural based natural, physical, or human resources. Rural development practice has not recognized the extent and the means to assist communities to reposition themselves. The focus of rural development has been on die microcommunity level rather than the macro forces changing communities' positioning in the international order. Information is the most widely available and troublesome product in the world. There is plenty of information in the world. In fact, industrial problem solving is done on a worldwide basis.
