EXTREMES OF SCALE - AGROECOLOGICAL VARIATION, SOCIETY, AND ETHOS IN BUENOS-AIRES, COSTA-RICA

Rural stratification is interpreted through colloquial categories of f arm scale with their associated meanings regarding life and livelihood on small-, medium-, and large-scale enterprises. This article examine s the profound extremes in agricultural production, social organizatio n of work, and ethos that divide rural society in the context of a nat ional culture evoking notions of egalitarian agrarian democracy. The r ole of active participation ethnography in the agricultural sector is linked to a ''political ecology'' framework for understanding social c hange in southern Costa Rica.