ABSTRACT
This chapter purposes to foster discussion about rural development in the Mediterranean context and, with this aim in mind, the author takes as his point of departure two fundamental assumptions concerning rural economy and society. It tries to go beyond the over-cautious pragmatism of mainstream proposals for a reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) by sketching out four principles for a more radical redesign, along with three options for a new policy architecture. The chapter argues that in spite of the difficulties inherent in satisfactorily defining agriculture in a manner that transcends prevailing economism and productivism, agriculture nevertheless still has to be the starting point for achieving meaningful and sustainable rural development. In brief, differences in social organization and leadership in farming and in rural society have set Northern and Southern European countries apart. Today, the welfare regime remains limited and inegalitarian, and still tends to neglect the needs of rural people.
