The national identity of citizens and economic growth are given primacy by
the state over the claims of the local communities to their natural resourc
es. The only exception is when local claims are articulated in terms of a '
moral economy'. It is when local communities articulate their rights to loc
al resource exploitation as being subsistence-based that they are able to c
atapult a local issue into a national issue. The article deals with the cas
e of an amusement park and related social protest. In this instance, the st
rategy of articulating a local issue in environmental terms through the mas
s media proved to be a partially successful strategy. It achieved three thi
ngs. First, the community was effectively able to resist the domination of
the promoters of the amusement park. Second, they were able to force the hi
gher-level bureaucracy, in this instance a central government ministry, to
address their issues. Finally, the local bureaucracy had to back the commun
ity demand for a short while at least. The community could not, however; su
cceed in meeting all its demands in the long run.