The Development of Development

The Development of Development

Karl A. Kumpfmüller

Lambach, July 23, 2009


• Introduction: What does “development“ mean?

– in history and at present:

the stages of economic (scientific, technical…) growth (W. W. Rostow, 1960,

but also Karl Marx and others): civilization, modernization, evolution, progress…

the Age of European Enlightenment and of

Western Civilization


– as linguistic derivation (Etymology):

Latin: velo, velare: to veil sth., to envelope, to mantle

velum: the canvas, the cover, the envelope…

develo, develare: to unveil sth.

Engl.: to develop (from, into) = mainly refl.

Fr.: développment, It.: sviluppo;

Ger.: Entwicklung, Sp.: desarrollo,

Port.: desenvolvimento ( evolution)


Evolution:evolvo

to untangle, extricate, detach, disclose

obvolvo to wrap up, cover,

revolvoto unroll a book, go

over again, repeat.

volvawomb (particularly

that of a sow).


– in Biology:– Development:

“the progressive changes in size, shape, and function during the life of an organism by which its genetic potentials (genotype) are translated into functioning adult systems (phenotype)… loss or reduction of certain structures may occur.”

(Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Ultimate Reference Suite)


• The History of Development:

- Mercantilism: the modern centralized Nation-State (absolute monarchy) uses the factors capital, labor, education und technical progress in order to promote wealth and growth of the country

- Colonialism: the overseas territories contribute enormously to the “development” of the wealth of European nations


- Liberalism and Capitalism:

in 1776, Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations:

“prudence” (of the private person), “justice” (the main task of the state), and “charity” (for the poor) will create wealth and liberty for all

- Technical Progress and Industrialization:

the fast development of natural sciences at independent universities fosters the rapid change from an agricultural to an industrial society:

urbanization and marginalization:

center and peripheries


- Imperialism (1870 – 1913) and World War I & II:

The most developed states (GB, USA, Germany, France, Japan …) compete for their hegemony in Europe and overseas.

After Word War II the USA comes out as the strongest and most developed. Since then the US and US-academics have defined the content and standard of “development”.


- The End of Colonialism – the Invention of Underdevelopment:

After World War II, when President H. Truman took office on Jan. 20, 1949, he declares the poor countries (the former and actual colonies) as “under-developed” and proposes the new era of development:


“We must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits of our scientific advances and industrial progress available for the improvement and growth of underdeveloped areas.

The old imperialism – exploitation for foreign profit – has no place in our plans. What we envisage is a program of development based on the concepts of democratic fair dealing.”


- The four Decades of Development (1961 – 2000):

In 1961, after the decolonization of most African countries, the United Nations proclaim the so-called “Development Decades” in order to promote assistance from the rich to the poor countries.

Following the big successes of the ERP (“Marshall-Plan”) the two main instruments of development aid are:

transfer of capital and technical assistance (know-how transfer) from the North to the South.


Important:

The respect of genuine cultural traditions and techniques is not included in these programs: many programs failed! The people concerned are object, not subject of development.

“Neo-colonialism – the last stage of Imperialism” (Kwame Nkrumah, London 1966).


- The Failure of Development Assistance:

In 1968, the 0.7% of GNP goal of development assistance is launched in order to provide sufficient aims to close the gap between the rich and the poor.

Until today this goal has not yet been fulfilled even half by the 23 member states of the DAC.


“The present development aid policy – rightly named as

such, as it was intended as such – has actually failed. It has not brought about what one had expected about ten or fifteen years ago. Despite the mobilization of relatively large sums.”

(Bruno Kreisky in a talk with Willy Brandt and Olof Palme, Vienna 1975)


- The Changes of Paradigm in Development Policy:

1960s &1970s: Development Aid trough capital transfer, industrialization and Western education, cash crops, international division of labor …

1980s: “Another Development”: focus on rural development, self-sustaining growth, applied technologies self-reliance (à la Tanzania)


1990s: “Sustainable Development”: cheap labor factories, free trade areas, emerging markets economy, industrialized raw material production, consumer markets

2000 - : “Globalization”: complete integration in world market ( WTO), free trade and traffic, develop. assistance concentrates on catastrophes, external debts release, LLDCs…

“Globalization is a child of the rich” (H. Fassbeck, 2004)


- The Balance Sheet after 50 Years of “Development”:

1. Only a few countries profited from the transfer of capital and know-how, and “developed”: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong...

2. So-called middle-income and large-economy countries in Latin America and Asia have increased their GNP, combined with a tremendous rise in external debts and in internal tensions due to the rapid increase in unequal income distribution: Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Indonesia, The Philippines...


3. China – and to a certain extent also India – was able to promote its own development without a high amount of foreign aid. Both are the fastest growing emerging markets at the moment – without solving the internal social tensions, on the contrary...

4. In almost 100 so-called LLDCs and LDCs “development” has not taken place. The gap between those countries and the industrialized countries widened tremendously:

Compared with 1960, the overall figure of people affected by hunger has increased from 500 to 1,020 million (2009), by extreme poverty (< $ 1/day) from 600 to 1,100 million:


24,000 human beings die of starvation every day (FAO, 2003).

In 2001, 2,700 million lived in poverty (< $ 2/day), most of them have no access to clean water, education and regular health care – and the big disillusion is that even excessive growth of the GNP cannot close this gap:

Ind. Country: $ 25,000 GNP/cap. + 2% annual growth = $ 25,500 Dev. Country: $ 800 GNP/cap. + 10% annual growth = $ 880


5. The external debts of all 154 LDCs (ca 5 billion inhabi-tants) increased from $ 70 billion in 1970 to $ 2.800 in 2007.

In the same period, debt-service payments of the LDCs to the North went up from $ 10 billion to $ 475 billion a year.

(Sources: IMF, Economic Outlook 2008).

Development Aid (ODA) of the 23 OECD-countries (1.1 bil-lion inhabitants) rose from $ 7 billion to $ 104 billion a year.

(Source: DAC, Statistical Tables 2008).

Capital Transfer of 200 million emigrants from LDCs into their former home countries makes up $ 250 billion a year.

(Source: Le Monde diplomatique, Jan. 09)


6. The global income distribution shows a tremendous inequality:

the highest 1% owns 40% of the global income the highest 2% own 50% of the global income the lowest 50% own 1% of the global income (UN Statistics)

7. The global climate change is mainly caused by this unequal income distribution:

10% of the world population (= the industrial countries) cause >80% of CO² emissions, of traffic, of energy consumption...

8. In 1995, 25 Mio people had to leave their country because of deteriorated environment conditions (drought, flooding ...),

in 2010, 50 Mio people will be affected.


• The Future of Development:

- The widening gap can only be narrowed by a decrease of productivity, growth, mobility, consumption, globalization, inequality of income in the Western world.

- Developing countries (but also industrial countries) need a protected area of self-controlled regional markets, self-sustaining growth, subsistent agriculture, appropriate technology, prohibitive tariffs, new strategies to fight corruption ...


- A democratization process of the UN power structures has to be urgently launched:

In a first step, countries should get their voting share according to their number of inhabitants, and this one-person-one-vote rule has to be applied to all decisions which deal with Human Rights, global climate, and environment issues ... in the General Assembly.

Further on, a profound reform of the Security Council is necessary which includes the abolishment of the veto of permanent members.


- A worldwide control of finance markets has to include the prompt implementation of the Tobin tax as well as the progressive taxation at source of speculation earnings.

These tax revenues will feed an International Fund of Development which can be used for bi- and multilateral projects of development.

So-called off-shore tax havens have to be closed immediately.


- International climate and environment protection strategies and projects of developing (and industrial) countries must have absolute priority to industrial plans.

The same priority applies to Human Security programs including the improvement of institutions dealing with International Law and Jurisdiction issues.

- Nuclear and excessive armament has to be banned not only in the case of developing countries but also in general. Majority decisions of the reformed United Nations must ban also all kinds of ABC weapons and control this disarmament process.


Development = the continuous struggle for and the universal creation of human rights:

”life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776


Human Development = to take responsibility/care for oneself and the others in order to promote a just distribution of power

the reinforcement of direct democracy

“Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie; et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris... sed libera nos a Malo.” Mt 6, 11 - 13


“If the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian, he can live in peace...

Treat all men alike. Give them all the same law. Give them all an even chance to live and grow. All men were made by the same Great Spirit Chief.

They are all brothers. The Earth is the mother of all people, and all people should have

equal rights upon it.... Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to think and talk and act for myself, and I will obey every law, or submit to the penalty.”

In-mut-too yah-lat-lat (Chief Joseph), Nez Percé Leader (1870)

The Development of Development

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