Sentence:  The dweller at p is last to hear about a new cure , the slowest to announce to his neighbors his urgent distresses , the one who goes the farthest to trade , and the one with the greatest difficulty of all in putting over an idea or getting <WSD>people</WSD> to join him in a cooperative effort . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively