ABSTRACT
This chapter discussed Professor Georgescu-Roegen's paper from the standpoint of the present-day peasant economies of the underdeveloped countries. The peasant economies of the underdeveloped countries are at different stages of transition from the "subsistence" to the "money" economy, and the scope and intensity of "monetization" vary considerably, not only between different countries, but also between the different parts of the same country. The chapter shows that all over the underdeveloped world, the peasant economies are in different stages of disintegration under the dual impact of the pressure of population and the spread of the exchange economy, particularly so when this is spearheaded by the expansion of peasant exports such as those to be observed in Southeast Asia or West Africa. Political independence has not lessened these dangers to the peasants, for they are now faced with governments anxious to promote economic development through rapid industrialization, using peasant agriculture as the milch cow to subsidize the industrial sector.
