© 2007 McGraw-Hil Higher Education. All right reserved. Mirror for Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak...

© 2007 McGraw-Hil Higher Education. All right reserved.

Mirror for HumanityConrad Phillip Kottak

Fifth Edition

Chapter 12

Colonialism and Development


Overview

• Colonialism

• Intervention philosophies and neoliberalism

• The Second World

• Development anthropology

• Strategies for innovation


CHAPTER 12Colonialism and Development

• Colonialism and imperialism– Imperialism – a policy of extending rule of a

nation or empire over foreign nations and of taking and holding foreign colonies

• Imperialism is as old as the state– Colonialism – political, social, economic, and

cultural domination of a territory and its people by a foreign power for an extended period of time

• Modern colonialism began during the “Age of Discovery” – European nations founded colonies throughout the New World

• First phase of European colonialism ended in the early 19th century, as result of rebellions and independence wars in Latin America



• British colonialism– British expansion was led by a drive for profit– At its peak (around 1914), the British empire

covered a fifth of the world’s land surface and ruled a fourth of its population

– First phase of British colonialism:• Concentrated in the New World, west Africa, India• Ended with the American Revolution

– Second phase of British colonialism: gained control over most of India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, large portions of eastern and southern Africa



• British colonialism– Justification for British imperialism: “the white

man’s burden”• Paternalistic and racist doctrine asserting that native

peoples in the empire were incapable of governing themselves, and thus that British guidance was needed to civilize and Christianize them

– British empire disintegrated after World War II, as a result of nationalist independence movements



• French colonialism– In contrast to British expansion, French

colonialism was driven more by the state, church, and armed forces than by pure business interests

– First phase of French colonialism: Canada, the Louisiana territory, the Caribbean, parts of India

– Second phase of French colonialism: most of north and west Africa, Indochina



• French colonialism– Justification for French colonialism: “mission civilisatrice”

• A civilizing mission, the goal of which was to spread French culture, language, and religion (Roman Catholicism) throughout the colonies

– French used two forms of colonial rule:• Indirect rule – governing through native leaders and

established political structures in areas with long histories of state organization

• Direct rule – imposing new government structures to control diverse societies, many of them previously stateless

– French empire began to disintegrate following World War II



• Colonialism and identity– Whole countries, along with social groups

and divisions within them, were colonial inventions

– Example: many of the modern political boundaries in West Africa are based on linguistic, political, and economic contrasts promoted under colonialism

– Hundreds of ethnic groups and “tribes” are colonial constructions



• Postcolonial studies– Postcolonial studies focus on various topics – e.g.,

formation of empires, impact of colonization, state of postcolonies today

– “Postcolonial” also describes the period succeeding colonialism, as well as a position against imperialism and Eurocentrism

– Three kinds of postcolonies:• Settler countries – large numbers of European colonists and

sparser native populations (e.g., Australia, Canada)• Nonsettler countries – large native populations and relatively

few Europeans (e.g., India)• Mixed countries – sizable native and European populations

(e.g., South Africa)



• Development– Intervention philosophy – an ideological justification for

outsiders to guide native peoples in specific directions• Examples: Britain’s “white man’s burden” and France’s

“mission civilisatrice”

– Economic development plans also have intervention philosophies

– Beliefs underlying interventions (whether by colonialists, missionaries, governments, or development planners):

• Industrialization, modernization, Westernization, and individualism are desirable evolutionary advances

• Development schemes that promote these processes will bring long-term benefits to local people



• Neoliberalism– Dominant intervention philosophy today– Current form of classic economic liberalism – view that

government should not regulate private enterprise and market forces

– Neoliberalism entails:• Tariff- and barrier-free international trade and investment• Maximization of profits through cost reduction• Tendency to impose austere measures that cut government

expenses

– In exchange for loans, the governments of postsocialist and developing nations have been required to accept neoliberal principles



• The Second World– First World – the “democratic West”– Second World – Warsaw Pact nations,

including the former Soviet Union and the socialist and once-socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia

– Third World – “less developed” or “developing” countries



• Communism– communism – a social system in which property is owned

by the community and in which people work for the common good

– Communism – a political movement and doctrine seeking to overthrow capitalism and to establish a form of communism (e.g., the former Soviet Union)

– All Communist systems were authoritarian – promoted obedience to authority rather than individual freedom

– Many were also totalitarian – banned rival parties and demanded total submission of the individual to the state



• Communism– Features distinguishing Communist systems from

other authoritarian regimes and socialist (social democratic) societies:

• Communist party monopolized power• Relations within the Communist party were highly

centralized and strictly disciplined• State ownership of the means of production• Cultivation of a sense of belonging to an international

movement, with the aim of advancing communism



• Postsocialist / post-Communist transitions– States that once had planned economies have

been privatizing resources, and undergoing democratization and marketization

– Problems in Russia despite attempts to reform the post-Soviet economy:

• Declining GDP (gross domestic product)• Increased poverty• Declining life expectancy and lower birthrate• Corruption – abuse of public office for private gain

– In postsocialist societies, what is legal and what is considered morally correct do not necessarily correspond



• Development anthropology– Branch of applied anthropology that focuses on

social issues in, and the cultural dimension of, economic development

– Development anthropologists help to plan and guide policy

– Foreign aid usually does not go where it is most needed

– Planners’ interests do not always coincide with the best interests of local people



• Development anthropology– Green revolution:

• Began in the 1960s and 1970s• New high-yielding crop varieties, chemical

fertilizers, pesticides, and cultivation techniques• Increased food supplies and reduced food

prices worldwide

– In Java (Indonesia), stratification led to problems during the green revolution



• Development anthropology– Green revolution in Java

• Wealthy villagers traditionally gave loans to, and exploited the cheap labor provided by, peasants

• To keep peasants economically dependent, wealthy villagers withheld information about, and discouraged participation in, the agricultural program

• Wealth individuals also benefited by adopting the new agricultural techniques, buying peasants’ plots, and purchasing labor-saving machinery



• Development anthropology– Green revolution in Java:

• Stoler’s research showed that the green revolution permitted some women to gain power over other women and men

– Status of land-holding women rose as they gained control over more land and the labor of poor women

– Poor women fared better than poor men, who had no access at all to off-farm work

– Lesson of Java’s green revolution – development programs that ignore traditional social, political, and economic divisions can have unintended and undesirable consequences



• Development anthropology– Equity

• Commonly stated goal of recent development policy is to promote equity

• Increased equity means reduced poverty and a more even distribution of wealth

• Wealthy and powerful people typically resist projects that threaten their vested interests



• Strategies for innovation– To maximize social and economic

benefits, development projects must:• Be culturally compatible• Respond to locally perceived needs• Involve men and women in planning and

carrying out the changes that affect them• Harness traditional organizations• Be flexible



• Strategies for innovation– Overinnovation – too much change

• Development projects must avoid overinnovation if they are to be successful

• People generally resist development projects that require major changes in their daily lives

• Development projects need to be sensitive to traditional cultures and the specific concerns of people

– Underdifferentiation – tendency to overlook cultural diversity and view less-developed countries as more alike than they truly are

– Most humane and productive strategy for change is to base the social design for innovation on traditional social forms in each target area



• Strategies for innovation– Third World models

• Best models for economic development are to be found in target communities

• Realistic development promotes change but not overinnovation, preserving local systems while making them work better

• Descent groups, with their traditional communalism and corporate solidarity, have important roles to play in economic development

© 2007 McGraw-Hil Higher Education. All right reserved. Mirror for Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak...

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Transcript of © 2007 McGraw-Hil Higher Education. All right reserved. Mirror for Humanity Conrad Phillip Kottak...