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Summary Geographies of Development: Chapter 1 Questioning development
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Summary of Chapter 1 'Questioning development' in Geographies of Development written by the authors Potter et al.
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Chapter 1: Questioning developmentIntroduction: from ‘underdevelopment’ and ‘development’ to ‘post-development’
In geography the concept of development relates to efforts to bring about changes which impact
on the well-being of countries and their inhabitants.
The meanings of the word ‘development’
‘Development’ is a word that is almost ubiquitous within the English language. People talk about
the ‘development of the child’ and many firms have ‘research and development’ divisions.
Turning to the level of the state, ‘physical development (land use) plans’ are produced. In the
arena of development policy, development processes are influenced by development planning
and most plans are in turn shaped by the prevailing development theories that ultimately reflect
the way in which development is perceived; in other words, by what we may refer to as the
ideology of development. Prevailing ideologies, such as belief in state determined leadership
and neo-liberalism, have shaped how development is understood and the associated strategies
and mechanisms deemed necessary to achieve it.
At the global level, development is conceived of as an approach to respond to and address one
of the main divisions of the world, between ‘developed nations’ and ‘developing nations’. In this
sense development is frequently understood to involve stages of advancement and evolution.
Over time, understanding what ‘development’ is has changed (material advances →
including social factors → including freedom (Sen)).
Table 1.1: ‘good’ and ‘bad’ outcomes that are frequently associated with the process of
development
For the most part of this chapter, the concept and practice of development are discussed in
relation to the experiences of what is frequently referred to as the Global South. But
development relates to all parts of the world at every level, from individual to global.
Thinking about development
Understanding development over time: the Enlightenment, modernity, neo-colonialism,
trusteeship and post-World War Two thinking.
The origins of the modern process of development:
Truman in his speech in 1949: the duty of the West is to bring ‘development’ to such relatively
underdeveloped countries. Truman was establishing a new colonial, or neo-colonial role for the
USA within the newly independent countries that were emerging from process of decolonisation.
‘Underdeveloped nations’ should recognize their condition and turn to the USA for long-term
assistance.
→ Introduction of ‘modernism’ into the development lexicon, which may be defned
as the belief that development is all about transforming ‘traditional’ countries into
modern, westernised nations.
, Trusteeship: the holding of property on behalf of another person or group, with the belief that the
latter will be better able to look after it themselves at some time in the future.
Other writers recognise that the origins of modern development lay in an earlier period. The
period when these changes took place is known as the ‘Enlightenment’. The Enlightenment
generally refers to a period of European intellectual history that continued through most of the
eighteenth century.
‘The emergence of an idea of ‘the West’ was also important to the Enlightenment. It was a very
European affaire which put Europe and European intellectuals at the very pinnacle of human
achievement’
Development as economic growth and the limitations of this approach: 1950s - 1970s..
It was only widely appreciated from the 70s that development involved dimensions other than
just growing the economy. This present section overviews ‘authoritative intervention’, based on
defined beliefs in the role that economic growth would play, based on the perceived
understanding of what had transformed or developed the USA.
Figure 1.2: Post-colonial growth theory.
Planning systems, economic growth models and aid mechanisms are used to giving rise to the
replicating the historical experience of the North in the South. In the 1950s, development
became synonymous with economic growth. Debates about development were dominated by
economists.
Growth theory and models of growth, based largely on the experience of the USA, were
developed and pursued, with the support of international aid an imported planning systems,
backed up by the support of global institutions, such as the World Bank, in an effort to achieve
‘growth’.
The earliest, and for many, still the most convenient way of quantifying underdevelopment and
development has been through the level of Gross National Product (GNP). GDP and GNI are
also used.
While economically based measures of development are instructive, and reflect very real wealth
and income gaps between countries, they cannot tell us about inequalities within countries, nor
can they tell us about other measures such as educational and health levels and relative levels
of freedom.
Measuring development and global differences: from economic measures to Human
Development Indices - 1960s - 2000s
The real problem with GNP per capita and related measures is that it gives no indication of the
distribution of national wealth between different groups within the population and of other
developmental considerations such as health and education.
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