The Peasant Betrayed

Download or read book The Peasant Betrayed written by John H. Powelson and published by Cato Institute. This book was released on 1990-07-01 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After studying land reform in 16 countries and offering illustrative examples from 11 more, Powelson and Stock conclude that government land reforms generally harm the rural poor more than help them. Detailing case after case in which government intervention has impoverished the peasant, the authors find only a few cases in which the government has made the peasant better off. In contrast, they show that in Third World countries where the state has left farming to the farmer, agricultural output has soared, famine has been overcome, and the welfare of the peasant has vastly improved.