The author discusses the work of the International Council for Adult Education in the areas of poverty, development, and international aid. Development, he contends, serves only to widen the gap between the haves and have-nots. He presents a concept of adult education that he believes may remedy the situation. (CH)

The development theory for progress in the countries of the Third World must be based on the aspirations of the common people; the majority poor. The poor cannot simply be provided with resources; they must also be psychologically, socially, and economically empowered. The most important conflict in poor countries is between urban and rural…

The primary beneficiaries of human resource development decisions ought to be the underprivileged members of developing societies. However, the sweeping changes that have occurred in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and in developing nations, have not included progress in the field of education. For example, the educational systems of Asian…