For centuries Andean civilization and ecology has afforded a special fascination for European travellers and officials. In this volume, eight writers - anthropologists, economists and historians working in Bolivia, Britain, France, Ireland and Peru - describe and analyse aspects of rural society in various Andean regions. They focus on the impact of capitalist development on both the peasant economy and the landed elite in the Andes and the ways in which that impact has been shaped by a specific Andean culture and a characteristic Andean ecology and climate. Their discussion of Andean...

The studies in this book offer a contemporary critique of the sociology, politics and economics of development as they are 'conventionally' taught and disseminated. They also outline the beginnings of a new approach, while not sparing from criticism the simplistic of contemporary radical theories.