Meaning of Post-development by Escobar - Essay Example

Post-Development Over time, development studies have evolved to accommo a diverse array of perspectives and opinions.Traditionally, both development practice and theory has often embraced a modernist paradigm. As such, a lot of development agencies and academicians continue to practice this concept today. However, academicians who view development via deconstructionism and post-modernity lenses have influenced development’s traditional view. The deconstructionism and post-modernity theories tended to challenge the primary views of reality and objectivity. Therefore, alternative development thinkers have influenced the notion of development to a level up to which development discourse is becoming more reflexive and less modernist. This has led to the emergence of alternate development views such as post development. The post-development perspective was put forward by Arturo Escobar, who criticized the development practice and theory heavily. Subsequently, Arturo Escobar calls for a development alternative. As such, the paper will evaluate and analyze the meaning of post-development as implied by Escobar. Additionally, post development solutions to local and global social issues will be highlighted in the paper. Moreover, Bornstein’s (2001) article Child sponsorship, evangelism, and belonging in the work of World Vision Zimbabwe will be incorporated into the analysis. Development was initially initiated and advocated by American president Truman, who in his inaugural address stated that foreign countries, especially those deemed to be underdeveloped would need aid in order to boost their living standards and industrial progress. From this perspective, development was viewed as a model/ concept that would help underdeveloped nations to advance. Arturo Escobar in Imagining a Post-Development Era? Critical Thought, Development and Social Movement describes the elements behind the development discourse. The dominant development discourse is determined by western ideas of progress and modernization which leads to the creation of a third world characterized by needy and disadvantaged populations (Escobar 22). As such, post development according to Escobar is the view that development is a western hegemony over the world. To aid the underdeveloped nations progress and modernize, the dominant development discourse suggests the help of the developed /first world nations (nations which define progress and modernity and thus have the capability to ‘aid’ underdeveloped countries). This is an ethnocentric view to adopt in analyzing the world’s inequalities. Using this view only makes the world inequalities to be more visible and pronounced rather than eliminating them. For instance, child sponsorship programs in Zimbabwe tended to increase the inequality gap rather than eliminate it. World Vision in its attempt to aid Zimbabwean children fight ‘despair and inhumanity’ created sponsorship programs that extended economic resources to the needy (Bornstein 95). Although the sponsorship programs helped children in Zimbabwe (Albert’s education was paid for by his sponsor), they also had a negative impact on the children, families and local communities at large. Global aid in Zimbabwe connected and simultaneously disconnected individuals while at the same time reconfiguring the local communities. The sense of belonging offered by these humanitarian groups was a temporal one for a lot of the children who were under sponsorship programs. Additionally, since sponsorship programs focus on single individuals, they tend to increase and pronounce the economic disparities between the sponsored children and the unsponsored ones. As such, child sponsorship only gave hope to single specific individuals while neglecting others in the community. This naturally results in the emergence of divisions and jealousy in the local communities. For instance, Albert (an aid beneficiary) experienced a growing division between him and his step sisters and brothers as a result of World Vision sponsorship (Bornstein 87). Escobar further argues that the current dominant development ignores and destroys cultural differences while undertaking development projects. Child sponsorship in Zimbabwe dislodged the parent’s purchasing power which led to the weakening of their authority over their children. Also, development leads to the creation of poverty since it exposes societies and communities to neo-liberal capitalism markets. The concept of development was basically the West’s way of re asserting its cultural and moral superiority in a post-colonial era. Therefore, development is both an act of moral/cultural imperialism and ideological export. Subsequently, poor nations had little or no power of declining the cultural imperialism with its forthright deployment of value and norms judgment and technocratic language. Escobar is right in arguing that development needs to rid itself of its discursive history and assumptions and rather assert local agency. Hence, local traditions and communities should be encouraged and empowered to address their own specific problems. Local agency will result in institutional and material gains in addition to pluralist societies and democracy radicalization. Also, local agency via the discourse of difference will take into consideration alterity, cultural difference, autonomy and the concept of self-determination. Lastly, alternative ways to development should be pursued. These alternative measures should focus on organizing economies and societies thus satisfying needs and improving living standards. It is vital for it to be noted that the critique of development does not mean that all countries are equal; some nations or communities lack both power and resources relative to other societies or nations. However, western development notions tend to impose a western agenda on less equal or poor nations. The western’s view of development in terms of mass consumption and modernity are neither desirable for the majority of the underdeveloped populations. Under this perspective, development is viewed as requiring the extermination and loss of the local culture or other forms of life/living that are naturally rewarding to the local communities. As a consequence, formerly satisfactory trends and ways of life transform to be unsatisfactory since the notion of development transforms how people view themselves. In Zimbabwe for instance, the child sponsorship programs changed how the local community viewed itself. The programs made the parents of the children see themselves as being destitute hence they needed help. Prior to these programs and western development agenda, the notion of poverty never existed in the local communities. Development is often viewed as a particular set of interventions, worldviews and knowledge which also are powers to transform, rule or intervene. Escobar challenges this perspective of a solitary path to a community’s development and rather demands that cultural diversity should be acknowledged and integrated. Primarily, this is Escobar’s main critique of development. To resist the development discourse, Escobar suggests three vital discourses that articulate for post development views. For instance, need satisfaction is a fundamental concept of development that is entwined deeply with the agency concept. However, it’s the first world nations who voice development concerns, and subsequently state the development priorities via their development apparatus (the IMF, World Bank, and other NGOs). This approach excludes the voice of the third world nations and their local communities. The post-development discourse hence tries to correct this gap by opening up spaces for the local communities and non-western people to air their needs and concerns. While providing a plethora of critique to the development approach, it also provides alternative solutions for bringing the required change in third world nations. The post-development approach proposes a specific vision where society is disassociated with western politics, modernity, and economical and cultural influences. This approach will ensure that the needs, wants and concerns of local third world nations are adequately addressed leading to increased living standards. In Zimbabwe, World Vision employees, the sponsors and the communities being helped all had differing opinions on what humanitarian assistance meant (Bornstein 67). Thus, World Vision’s development programs did not achieve the required effect since the child sponsorship programs were understood differently. The dominant development discourse should altogether discard its assumptions since it has failed to the level that great poverty in third world nations still exist today. Conclusion Undoubtedly, Post-development practice and theory has influenced development studies. However, many other academicians argue that post-development does not offer practical programs and solutions to amend the inadequacies and failings of current development. Post-development opponents, therefore, maintain that the theory lacks practical programs. Conversely, post development academicians such as Arturo Escobar provide many practical suggestions and solutions for solving current development problems. Some of these solutions include the utilization of local ways and social movements to resist world modern hegemony, deconstruction of modernity and using post-colonial thinking to come up with new paradigms. According to Escobar, the primary solution is to all together move away from development and instead let the local people and their societies create their own distinct paradigms which will enable them to achieve the kind of society they want, based on their local ways and actual needs. This is how a post development intervention would look like. Works Cited Bornstein, Erica. "Child sponsorship, evangelism, and belonging in the work of World Vision Zimbabwe." American Ethnologist 28.3 (2001): 595-622.Print. Escobar, Arturo. "Imagining a post-development era? Critical thought, development and social movements." Social text (1992): 20-56. Print. Read More