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Summary Post-development theory has been widely criticised for its exclusion of socio-economic inequality, as well as its failure to adequately consider the role of culture in development. Some critics argue that post-development theorists are blind to the negati$7.54
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Summary Post-development theory has been widely criticised for its exclusion of socio-economic inequality, as well as its failure to adequately consider the role of culture in development. Some critics argue that post-development theorists are blind to the negati
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Course
DVA3704 - Development Planning (DVA4802)
Institution
University Of South Africa (Unisa)
Post-development theory has been widely criticised for its exclusion of socio-economic inequality, as well as its failure to adequately consider the role of culture in development. Some critics argue that post-development theorists are blind to the negative effects of capitalism on societies, and t...
Critically analyse the value of post-development theory to modern development discourse and
discuss whether the criticisms levelled against it are justified.
Post-development theory has been widely criticised for its exclusion of socio-economic inequality, as
well as its failure to adequately consider the role of culture in development. Some critics argue that
post-development theorists are blind to the negative effects of capitalism on societies, and they
neglect the importance of economic growth and political freedom.
Others have argued that post-development theories do not consider gender or cultural dynamics,
which can contribute significantly to developmental outcomes. Overall, it seems that there is a lot of
criticism levelled against post-development theory – but does this justification justify all these
criticisms?
It would be unfair to slam post-development theory without giving it a chance to prove itself wrong.
Critics often focus exclusively on critiques without evaluating what post-development theorizes
about specific issues such as social justice or culture. It is also important motto overly generalize
arguments against one theoretical perspective without careful examination of how similar or
dissimilar the ideas are across different texts or thinkers. Ultimately, whether criticisms levelled
against post Development are justified will depend upon how specifically those criticisms apply to
use studies conducted within post Development Theory.
Post-development theory has been critiqued for its alleged relativism, instrumentalism, and
Eurocentrism. Critics argue that these tendencies undermine the normative power of post-
development discourse by undermining traditional developmental theories based on notions of
progress and development.
In response to this criticism, many proponents of post-development theory argue that its relativistic
focus on difference is not a retreat from values but an acknowledgement of the limits to
universalizable values. They also point out that even though all cultures vary in their way of
understanding life, there are nonetheless shared aspects across them which can be used as criteria
for judging variety rather than subordination or annihilation. In other words, while different cultures
may have different conceptions about ‘the good life’ or ‘the better world’ they still share some
common goals such as autonomy and security.
Finally, defenders contend that despite its limitations post-development theory retains considerable
value because it provides a nuanced analysis of why certain policies or practices – such as
neoliberalism – might be harmful in terms of development outcomes. By exploring how particular
forms cultural modernity take (e.g.
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