Introducing the Concept of Development
Siby Kollappallil Joseph
The title of
Module One of the International Fellowship Program on Nonviolence and Peace
(IFPNP) is "Global Sustainability
Challenges and Response: An Analysis". The first section is regarding
development. The term development is used in different academic disciplines
from management to health sciences. The very meaning of the concept of
development differs according to the academic discipline. Understanding the
mainstream economic concept of development is crucial for discussing
sustainability because traditional models prioritize economic growth, often
without taking into consideration the full environmental and social costs.
Therefore, we will try to understand the concept of development in the
mainstream economics. Though the specific term "development economics"
originated and became popular in the mid-20th century, the core subject of
economic development was a primary concern for economists starting with Adam
Smith, who is widely considered the Father of Modern Economics.
Adam Smith was an 18th-century Scottish economist, philosopher, and
popularised the concept of economic policy of laissez-faire
economy French term laissez-faire
means "leave alone" / "let you do") –
It advocates non-interference of government in business affairs -
Lesser the involvement of government in the economy, the better off business
will be, and thereby the society is going to benefit as a whole. His most
famous 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations. (An
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations) – according
to Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen in a sense discusses the basic issues
of development economics.
Amartya Sen wrote “An Inquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations” was, in fact, also an inquiry into the basic
issues of development economics. …. Interest in development problems has,
traditionally, provided one of the deepest motivations for the pursuit of
economics in general, and this broad basis of development economics has to be
borne in mind when investigating the details of the concept of development…..
It is not hard to see why the concept of development is so essential to
economics in general. …. The enhancement of living conditions must clearly be
an essential- if not the essential- object of the entire economic exercise and
that enhancement is an integral part of the concept of development.” -Amartya
Sen The Concept of Development, Chapter-1 in Hand
book of Development Economics, Vol.1, edited by Hollis Chenery,T.N.
Srinivasan (Netherlands:Elsevier, 1988) But one has to keep in mind that Amartya Sen
also looked upon development as process of expanding human freedom
and it necessitates removing the sources of unfreedom. He argued that human
freedom is both the primary means and the ultimate end of development. He
believed that true development involves removing the "unfreedoms"
that constrain people, such as poverty and lack of opportunity. These
unfreedoms include a lack of economic facilities, social opportunities,
political freedom, transparency, and protective security.
World War II
Economic development and Economic Growth
World War II was the turning point in the history. It was
first time nuclear weapons were used in the warfare. In the field of economics
too it was catastrophic. Industrial facilities in Europe were completely
damaged due to aerial bombardment. Damage to the transportation infrastructure
like railways, bridges, docks etc. affected the trade flows and resulted in
economic isolation. Infrastructure facilities of two countries were not
affected viz. USA and Canada and there was an economic boom in these countries.
Economic development and growth-major concerns after the
war. The post war period witnessed the emergence of
development economics as an independent subject or academic discipline.
The United States became the prime mover in the process of
post war economic revival and development. In mainstream
economic thought, economic growth is a narrower, quantitative
concept, while economic development is a broader,
multi-dimensional concept that encompasses qualitative improvements in a
society's well-being. Economic growth quantifies the increase in a nation's production
of goods and services, typically measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
while economic development is a broader concept that includes improvements
in living standards, education, healthcare, and overall well-being. What is
significant is that economic development and economic growth have become
synonyms during that period. The primary concern was the expansion of wealth in
terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and per capita income. The pursuit of
growth became the ruling ideology dominating the economic world
European Recovery Programme (ERP)
One of the major initiatives to rebuild European economies
after the Second World War viz. European Recovery Programme (ERP) popularly
known as the Marshall Plan(1948 – 1951) was launched by America. This
was named after United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall –
who gave outline of the plan in the speech given at
Harvard University on June5th 1947 . It was basically an
American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western
Europe .
Harry Truman – 20th January 1949 –
Re-elected to the office of President of US for second time – gave the strategy
for US to recover form Economic Crisis in his inaugural argued that
resources of the world to be pooled to achieve ‘Peace, Plenty & freedom’
https://www.trumanlibraryinstitute.org/historic-speeches-trumans-inaugural-address/
European Recovery
Programme (ERP)
Four point Foreign Policy Goals :
a. Greater
production is the key to prosperity and peace. And the key to greater
production is a wider and more vigorous application of modern scientific and
technical knowledge.
b. Only by helping the
least fortunate of its members to help themselves can the human family achieve
the decent, satisfying life that is the right of all people.
c. Democracy alone
can supply the vitalizing force to stir the peoples of the world into
triumphant action, not only against their human oppressors, but also against
their ancient enemies-hunger, misery, and despair.
d. On the basis of these
four major courses of action we hope to help create the conditions that will
lead eventually to personal freedom and happiness for all mankind.
(Source:https://www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/challenge-international-aid)
Major chunk of the ERP aid was used by the Europeans to buy
manufactured goods and raw materials from the United States and Canada.
As a result, the United States economy witnessed a phenomenal surge in
terms of economic growth and this period is described as The Golden Age
of Capitalism Post war economic boom - The Golden Age of
Capitalism spanned from the end of the Second World War in 1945 to the early
1970s It was a period of economic prosperity with
the achievement of high and sustained levels of economic and productivity
growth – High growth rate in many countries that had been affected very badly
by the war – High sustained industrial growth, high employment rate, increased
consumerism, led to creation of polarisation of society into rich-poor, capitalist-labourer
and so on.
W.W. Rostow – 5 Stages of Economic growth
American Economist & government official Walt
Whitman Rostow, an American economist, enunciated the concept
of "Stages of Economic Growth" in 1960 He presented
five steps through which all countries must pass to become developed:
1) Traditional society : Agrarian, labour intensive, low on
trading
2) Preconditions to take-off : developing manufacturing
/industrial growth,
international outlook
3) Take-off : intensive Industrialization
4) Drive to maturity : rising standard of living, technology
advancements and
dependence, diversification of
economy and economic growth
5) Age of high mass consumption : Capitalist system, high
production, consumerism
This 'non- communist manifesto’ became the ruling idea of
development both in developed and developing countries including India.
It aimed at transforming the traditional society to a higher
stage of high mass consumption through exponential growth of Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and per capita income. This development pattern ultimately
resulted in the North - South divide in which the developed countries of the
North used or exploited the lion's share of world’s resources and pocketed the
major chunk of the benefits of development. Even in developing countries like
India, it resulted in the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few,
unbridled exploitation of renewable and non-renewable resources, widespread
social disparity, escalation of violent movements poverty, unemployment
and the environmental degradation.
Major land mark: The
formation of Club of Rome in 1968
The mission of the Club is to promote understanding of the
global challenges facing humanity and to propose solutions through scientific
analysis, communication and advocacy. The Club of
Rome believed that the theory of continuous growth propagated by the mainstream
economists would ultimately result in a planetary collapse. Thus, they
decided to focus on the theme “The Predicament of Mankind” in June 1970
Limits to Growth
In 1970, Club of Rome commissioned an international team of
researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to study the
implications of continued worldwide growth. They examined the five basic
factors that ultimately limit the growth of this planet: population increase,
agricultural production, non-renewable resource depletion, industrial output,
and pollution. It resulted in the publication of The Limits
to Growth . The message of the book gives a note of hope.
1. If the present growth trends in world population,
industrialization, pollution, food production, and resource depletion continue
unchanged, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached sometime within
the next one hundred years. The most probable result will be a rather sudden
and uncontrollable decline in both population and industrial capacity.
2. It is possible to alter these growth trends and to
establish a condition of ecological and economic stability that is sustainable
far into the future. The state of global equilibrium could be designed so that
the basic material needs of each person on earth are satisfied and each person
has an equal opportunity to realize his individual human potential.
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) – 1972
In the 1970s environmental issues were added for the first
time in the roster of international concerns and it resulted in the
organization of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (also
known as the Stockholm Conference). It was an international conference convened
under United Nations auspices held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5-16, 1972.
It marked a turning point in the development of international environmental
politics. This Conference adopted a declaration of principles and action plan
to fight pollution. The first principle asserts that “Man has the
fundamental right to freedom, equality and adequate conditions of life, in an
environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being, and he
bears a solemn responsibility to protect and improve the environment for
present and future generations.” It was to further this major International
Conference that the United Nations Environment Programme was founded.
The World Commission on Environment and Development
It was more than a decade after the United Nations
Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, the General Assembly, in its
resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983, welcomed the
establishment of a special commission that initiates the process of preparation
of the Environmental perspective to the Year 2000 and beyond. As a
result, a new organization independent of the UN and national governments
viz. The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) was
created. The Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland, was
appointed as the Chairman of the new organization. It is popularly known
as The Brundtland Commission. It examined grave environmental and
developmental issues and formulated proposals for dealing with them. It
emphasized the need for international cooperation on addressing these issues.
Besides, the commission addressed ways to raise awareness on environmental
issues and commitments to address those issues from individuals, NGOs,
governments, and intergovernmental agencies.
The Report of the World Commission on Environment
and Development: Our Common Future
In 1987, the Brundtland Commission published a report
containing its findings and recommendations. The Report of
the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future was
"a global agenda for change."It asserted the fact that any
international environmental initiative must address the issue of sustainable
development. It brought into lime light the question of sustainability in
the discourse of development. It underlined the need for sustainable and
enduring development in the following words;
“Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to
ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability
of future generations to meet their own needs. The concept of sustainable
development does imply limits - not absolute limits but limitations imposed by
the present state of technology and social organization on environmental
resources and by the ability of the biosphere to absorb the effects of human
activities. But technology and social organization can be both managed and
improved to make way for a new era of economic growth. The Commission believes
that widespread poverty is no longer inevitable. Poverty is not only an evil in
itself, but sustainable development requires meeting the basic needs of all and
extending to all the opportunity to fulfill their aspirations for a better
life. A world in which poverty is endemic will always be prone to ecological
and other catastrophes.”
The Programme of Action ICPD and the Beijing
Platform for Action
The Programme of Action adopted at the International
Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo Egypt from 5th to
13th September 1994 laid out a far-sighted plan for advancing human well-being
that places the human rights of individuals, rather than numerical population
targets, at the centre of the global development agenda.
The Beijing Platform for Action was the result of the Fourth
World Conference on Women held in Beijing from 4 to 15 September
1995. The Beijing declaration stated that “We are deeply convinced
that economic development, social development and environmental protection are
interdependent and mutually reinforcing components of sustainable development,
which is the framework for our efforts to achieve a higher quality of life for
all people. Equitable social development that recognizes empowering the poor,
particularly women living in poverty, to utilize environmental resources
sustainably is a necessary foundation for sustainable development. We also
recognize that broad-based and sustained economic growth in the context of
sustainable development is necessary to sustain social development and social
justice.”
Earth Summit
Twenty years after the first United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment, the UN through its historic Earth Summit in 1992
sought to help Governments to rethink their policies on economic development
and find ways to halt the destruction of irreplaceable natural resources and
pollution of the planet. The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), informally known as Earth Summit, which took place in
Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, was a landmark event bringing together Heads of State
and Chiefs of Government, officials of international organizations, and
representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and others. Two
multilateral treaties, viz. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) and Convention on Biological Diversity were opened for
signature. The outcome of the Summit was the adoption of Agenda 21, which
provides a wide-ranging blueprint for action to achieve sustainable development
worldwide.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) is an international treaty adopted in 1992 that aims to stabilize
greenhouse gas concentrations to prevent "dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system". It established a basic
framework for global climate action, and later agreements like the Kyoto
Protocol (2005) and the Paris Agreement (2016) have built upon it by
setting specific, binding commitments for countries to reduce emissions and
limit global temperature rise.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development
The World Summit on Sustainable Development held in
Johannesburg, South Africa, 2002 reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable
development to ensure the equilibrium between nature’s resources and human
needs. It asserted that the development which comes at the cost of natural
resources should not exceed the bearing capacity of the planet. It is also
known as Rio +10. The challenge before the Summit was how to reconcile
development and economic growth with environmental sustainability. Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development clearly stated that “we assume a
collective responsibility to advance and strengthen the interdependent and
mutually reinforcing pillars of sustainable development - economic development,
social development and environmental protection - at the local, national,
regional and global levels.”
Rio+20
Coinciding with the twentieth anniversary of the Earth
Summit, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development popularly
known as Rio+20 – was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 2012. The
objective of the Conference was to secure renewed political commitment for
sustainable development, assess the progress and gap in the implementation of
the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development, and address new
and emerging challenges .It decided to launch a process to develop a set
of Sustainable Development Goals which will build upon the Millennium
Development Goals and converge with the post 2015 development agenda. The
Conference also adopted ground-breaking guidelines on green economic policies.
17 Sustainable Development Goals
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations,
world leaders assembled at the UN Sustainable Development Summit from 25 - 27
September at UN headquarters in New York formally adopted an ambitious new
sustainable development agenda. It announced 17 Sustainable Development Goals with
169 associated targets which are integral and indivisible. It was the
result of more than a year of negotiations. The Open Working Group presented
its recommendation for the 17 sustainable development goals and in early August
2015, the 193 member states of the United Nations reached consensus on the
outcome document of the new agenda “Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.” The resolution named "Transforming Our World:
the 2030.Agenda" adopted on September 25, 2015 placed before all
countries of the world a target to achieve these goals over a period of 15
years. It aims to end poverty and hunger, protect the ecosystem and ensure
peace and prosperity for the future generations.
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