Past and Present Politics and Development - Research Paper Example

? PAST AND PRESENT POLITICS AND DEVELOPMENT College Past Leadership and Political Organization s and cities have continued to grow since time immemorial. States have previously developed from small family settings, to groups for example the Indonesian crocodile hunters and even to clans like the nomadic New Guinea people. Diamond (1999, p. 270) studied that communities and clans moved very fast from the egalitarian system of political organization to kleptocracy. This involved change in individual lifestyles of the target people. This was facilitated by the involvement of other outsider people who played a role in changing the views on practices and beliefs of the local people. In his tour, he learnt that the natives were always hostile to the new people who purportedly brought in new blood into the political organization and development practices of the natives. In the early years, missionaries played a predominant role in changing the political and organizational scenario of the places where they went. The traveling of missionaries to places that had not developed economically marked the beginning of civilization and modernization in most undeveloped or underdeveloped societies. It was only after the insurgence of missionaries that native undeveloped societies began to embrace peace, governance, professionalism such as teaching, soldiers, doctors and bureaucrats all of whom contributed to the common good of the societies. Diamond (1999) believed that the first step to the true development of the society was through the practice of agriculture on commercial basis. Given that the ancient people and not so long ago the undeveloped states had no regular economic specialization and land was subdivided among group members and subgroups, the political organization was considered egalitarian. This was especially so because there was no present day institutions like treaties, the police and laws that governed universal human behavior. In essence, the availability and access to agricultural land determined the rate of economic development and political organization since this was what would attract the missionaries who had the experience in such practices to those areas. The argument may be valid since Eurasia which was blessed with local/indigenous domestic able grain cereals and animals that facilitated traction animals like the donkeys and bulls. This encouraged the development of commercial large scale agriculture which enabled economic growth and also stratified societies such that there emerged social classes. Reasons for Lack of Single or Complex \political Organizations Although Diamond argued that states “expand and develop based on their level of agricultural practice and that this happens in a virtuous circle” (1999, p. 266), there have been occurrences that counter his argument which in Diamond’s view was assumed and therefore needs to be added to the theory of why states develop and expand. Therefore, it implies that, instead of states eventually growing to large and more complex organizations, there is either unequal growth of societies into becoming on single large complex organization or eventual stagnation of states. This lack of large and more complex organizations are attributed to internal factors within the States themselves; a fact Diamond does not incorporate in his theory. The first reason is based on the fact that political organizations are slowly, but steadily emerging that is not necessarily egalitarian in nature. In other words the states themselves are greedy and are often unwilling to distribute public funds that are supposed to facilitate growth of complex organizations. Secondly, given the divergent states interests, it is hard or perhaps impossible for the world to attain a single world or complex organization that Diamond proposes (Diamond 1999, p. 290). In the face of democracy and human rights, political organizations and by far autonomy is slowly revolving into a new era of leadership and political authority. In the present day however, development is traced back to the past six decades and more so after the Second World War when development gained international significance and recognition (Diamond 1999). The western states were faced with the predicament of rebuilding their economies that had collapsed during civil wars and consequently during the Second World War while also keeping tab on the general development of those states. Some of the western stats were not predominantly agrarian. Europe had been destroyed by the war, and organizations responsible for economic emancipation of states like the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development which later was renamed as the World Bank was firmed to facilitate in the restructuring of the economic system of the fallen or almost fallen states during that period (Diamond 1999). Development and state expansion was hence not based on agrarianism alone, but on rapid industrialization and civilization of some states after the Second World War. During this period, industrialization was considered as being synonymous with development. The major aim of industrialization was to raise incomes thereby giving the poor authentic access to a wide range of goods and services in the developed societies. In addition, there was a paradigm shift in developed countries from the use and sale of raw agricultural product to the manufacture and use of manufactured goods which was essential in keeping with industrialization (Diamond 1999). The shift from agrarianism to industrialization was in itself not enough; there was a rapid increase in the number of countries seeking and/or gaining independence during that time. African and Asian countries sought independence to speed up their development and hence improve the livelihoods of the citizens with little unionization that could generate a single complex organization. This meant a change in political systems and organizations in keeping with the quest for development and expansion especially in financial terms, a chance they had been denied by the colonialists (Diamond 1999). There was a common belief that the state would effectively be used to alter societies and facilitate social transformation. Looking at the conditions surrounding States, it is much predictable there will be new dispensations in the political states over the next couple of centuries. First and foremost, in the next 20 years there will be strife on supremacy and the work which can be handled by nations-states. At this time, there will an astonishing rise in the East which as a result of historical change that is bound to affect states alike. The other aspect that the new theory would create in the political world in the next couple of centuries is a new political dispensation where world will be more complicated as a result of strive by each state to be a supper power and influence a given region. For instance, America would strive to influence Europe. On the other hand, increase in global harm on the climate is likely to be experienced and cause much instability in African and Central Asia in the next couple of centuries. Political Evolution and Development In the past, as explained by Diamond (1999), people lived in bands each of which contained a few individuals who controlled their affairs locally. The first multi community chiefdom in which one person got political leadership over several people happened about ten thousand years ago. Millennia later, some communities formed social cleavages in which they shared one leader over a number of villages. Although chiefdoms resulted into states and gained independent ruler ship in many parts of the world, humans continued to live in bands and/or villages (Diamond 1999, p. 273). Political evolution was fostered by the following circumstances: environmental circumscription e.g. fertile lands that were inmost cases located around mountains, water and deserts. The attraction to agricultural productivity and intensification allowed humans to settle around such places. The increase in agricultural production resulted in scarcity of land thereby forcing subjugation on the humans who did not have land. These would eventually result in the formation of chiefdoms and states (Diamond 1999). The other circumstance that resulted in political evolution was the circumstances surrounding resources concentration. Productive resources like lakes or rivers and/or streams that high populations of sea food and fishes attracted people to try and stay at the banks where they fished, traded or did both. Finally, social circumscription encouraged being hemmed in by the other societies and not the geographical features of a place. Other factors that played a major role in the evolution of politics and/or leadership included population growth (Diamond 1999). From previous studies, population pressures forced humans to move further inland and into the tropical regions so as to offset the impacts of the population on the environment. Given that agriculture which was predominantly depended on in the early days mined the earth, there was need for control on resources hence the invention of political leadership. Things have continued to change through the post war era. This was when the issue of birth control and conservation came on the fore of agrarianism. The push for development while also conserving the soil for future generations resulted in the industrialization era (Diamond 1999). This was market by the use of heavy machinery in agriculture and other sectors because it was thought human productivity was getting lower and depleted when used in an undeserving manner. In the present day, except for the developing nations, there has been a paradigm shift from focus on agricultural products in building the economies and developing nations. New developmental theories advocate for the formation of forums that encourage development per capita (Diamond 1999). The invention of education and new technologies ensure that the greater population can operate machinery and not depend on things that are done manually. A good example is china that does little commercial and intensive agriculture but is predominantly an industrialized economy. Today, there are various ways in which development is viewed. Politics and its organization play an important role in the way a nation and state develops. There are economies that continue to grow rapidly while others lag behind. In Africa for example, economies continue to grow at a much slower rate than their western counterparts majorly owing to the political organization and the power structures thereof (Diamond 1999). There is a tendency of politicians that are not transparent. In addition, this leadership is majorly hereditary, sometimes forming anarchies and has the tendency to condone corruption practices. Politics and governance is marred with irresponsibility and unaccountability such that a greater portion of the country’s resources is controlled by a few wealthy people at the expense of the larger population who continue to live in poverty and lack. Access to resources is not always equitable and the common man is the most voiceless in the political decision arena (Diamond 1999). Consequently, agriculture which has become a wanting sector in development continue to record less and less contribution to the overall l national development; this is because for example in tropical Africa, just a few poor people do agriculture and the few who practice it a small scale value that does not contribute much to the national GDP and consequently the development of these states. Diamond(1999, p. 277) argues that the apparent little commitment to change of governance, political accountability and agricultural conservation only implies that the contribution of agriculture to the overall development of nations will be at a diminishing rate if action is not taken as soon as now. Bibliography Diamond, J M 1999, “From egalitarianism to kleptocracy”, in Guns, germs and steel: The fates of human societies, Norton, New York, p. 265-292. United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization 15th December 1965, Theories of social and political evolution and development, viewed 30 November 2011, Read More