What do we need as opposed to what is necessary? Is it growth or is it development? Does this two collide at some point or can pursuit of one result in the demise of the other? Is growth and development an altruistic venture designed for the good of the people by a minority elite? Who earns the right to determine what growth should happen and what pathway development should follow?
While this may look like a ridiculous question yet its significance to the plight of peoples' across the globe may never be properly evaluated or recorded. Most government pursue growth and call it development leading to deteriorating social values that revolves like a wild storm resulting in the ultimate destruction often called a melt down or depression.
A government that invest in "industrial growth and economic growth" without proper impact assessment and investment in fundamental values of respect and social justice just builds high-rises on a muddy foundation-give it a few years of glory at the best.
There is the frazzling pressure on governments to deliver, so we see a rush to set up direct foreign investment, enact laws for conducive business environment and often overlook Human Right issues that accompany this rush. Local communities are opened up to complexities beyond them and beyond the next generation. The speed means people are bulldozed into believing is for their own good or too frazzled to ask the right questions. Without creating an environment of oversight and social audit, the culture of impunity is gradually built over time to the level it becomes the norm rather than the exception. We should be particularly disturbed when impunity resides and grows daily within the private sector. This means social values and social justice have been blown away with the wind of growth.
Fast growth that says sharp business practises are alright ought to be debunked and strongly campaigned against both by government and civil society. Growth that will build a society that actually cares less about the survival of the society and reinforcement of its positive values should be seen as an opposing force that would only ultimately uproot society and create an alien hostile environment for coexistence.
So we need to look around and interrogate each new policy, proposition, and trend. Asking what would be the impact, who would it impact and what changes does it herald. Ask questions, is your Right to Development.
You are very correct in the above analysis. You see, the problem is misplacement of priority. Growth is natural whereas development is not really. Everything is naturally meant to grow and need to be steered (developed) to go the right direction but we end up going the other way round especially in the act of governance.
ReplyDeleteOne could also argue that growth in terms of governance has been redefined and over calculated so as to reflect only numerical increase that lacks depth and character. For example a child grows but one never just counts the number of years but takes into consideration the character development, maturity in handling life issues and ability to become independent. When the growth of a child does not encompass all these, we are usually seen to often call a 30year old a child.
ReplyDeletethe concept of growth versus development is relative to the people and country. why because of the misconception that alot of african countries have grown in strange cultures but remains largely underdeveloped. i just agree with you . imagine we are importing fertilizers to improve crop while america and other countries are running away from such produce, organic food which is highly priced there is what we want to discard here as part of our agricultural development programme.
ReplyDeleteI am a little late to the discussion, but I did get around to reading your article, and I wanted to say how much it resonated with me. You're spot on, Odi, when you talk about the gov using "development" as a front to make a quick buck. I also like your parallel with the child who grows but does not mature.
ReplyDeleteI think that was the intention behind adding "sustainable" to development. But the way the private sector works is rigged--their mission/responsibility is to make a profit regardless of the cost. And that's what needs to be changed, IMO, with pressure from civil society and the government--the way the private sector works. Just making a profit is not a sustainable goal.