ABSTRACT
Objectives for outsiders can, then, be expressed as a reversal, putting first the wishes of the poor themselves. But this cannot be all. Dilemmas remain: from conflicting values and objectives; from times when outsiders knowledge is believed to be more valid than rural people's knowledge for achieving what poor people want; from trade-offs between short and long-term costs and benefits; and from outsiders need to be true to them. Outsiders and the rural poor may agree in saying no to children dying, to preventable disease, to famine, to the poor becoming poorer, to exploitation of the poor by the rich. Agreement on points such as these can provide a moral foundation for the next steps, to see what outsiders should do. Conventional logic would move from objectives to methods of analysis for the choice and design of action. Rural development plans are found for the regional or provincial, district or subdistrict and block levels.
