I. Introduction
Development is for people, of people, and by people. Literature on development studies notes that the discussion has evolved from the economic aspect to a holistic approach on the issue. Debates on the issue seem to answer an aspect of man–the basic needs approach sees development in satisfying his material needs while the capability approach sees development in expanding man’s ability to be the steward of his own development. Both approaches in themselves are valuable, but both have to be considered with the knowledge that man is at the center of development. He is, after all, the material, formal, efficient and final cause of development. Man is the beginning, the means and the end of any developmental effort. However, which of these two aspects of development must be given priority depends on the knowledge of its advocates and supporters of who and what man is.
This essay will unfold through 1) A discussion on what the terms development and sustainable development mean and imply; 2) The underscoring of the goals of development; and 3) An explanation on why education in freedom is needed for an increased sensitivity of cultural traditions.
II. Development for what
Development is usually defined “as the significant and measurable economic growth, and the emergence of social, economic, and political institutions.” Development is clearly a process that involves change that is empirically verifiable within a given period, thus making the time element a central factor. This can be seen, for example, in assessing noticeable differences in the state of affairs from the start of an intervention to when such involvement ceases. There could also be intermediate measurements to check the effectiveness of proposed solu...
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...ent nations, of the traditions of the various peoples, by which the individual defines himself in relation to life's fundamental questions. What eclecticism and cultural levelling have in common is the separation of culture from human nature. Thus, cultures can no longer define themselves within a nature that transcends them, and man ends up being reduced to a mere cultural statistic. When this happens, humanity runs new risks of enslavement and manipulation.
As the quote suggests, self knowledge is what will ensure that one is not arbitrarily sucked in the developmental scheme that could lead to loss of identity. An awareness of whoand what one is protects the person from a new form of slavery and colonization that could shackle the spirit. Education in freedom and for freedom will capacitate the person to be the author of his destiny and the master of his fate.
In the book, Siddhartha written by Herman Hesse, the topic of self-realization and gaining self-knowledge is explored. Ralph Waldo Emerson states that “[who] would be a man must be a nonconformist [...] Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind […] with consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall.” Here, Emerson states that in order to be a man, one must break away from generally accepted beliefs and practices. Society is not optimal to cultivate the foundation to finding one’s self. Participation in society inhibits individual growth because it confuses one of their true values, wastes time, and clouds success and determination.
It has been said that ignorance is bliss and if we do not know that something more exists, we do not yearn for it. It has also been said that the door to enlightenment and inner wisdom, once opened, can never be closed again. Many great philosophers and teachers have dealt with the idea of whether it is better to live a life of servitude and submission, or are we to pursue a life of personal happiness and emotional freedom.
The way a person is taught from a young age often times affects his or her values and perceptions throughout their life. A person is taught how to think and what to think about but is rarely given the choice of how to perceive this information. This can be seen in Plato 's “Allegory of the Cave,” “Learning to Read and Write,” by Frederick Douglass and the speech, “This is Water” by David Wallace. Each of the three pieces talks about characters being born into enslavement either hypothetically or literally. Being born into enslavement resulted in each of them to seek for freedom in different ways. Only knowing one way to see and think due to the environment arises self-centered thoughts by the protagonist.
After reading both “Self Reliance,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson and “The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,” by Frederick Douglass, one might notice a trend in what both writers regard as the key to happiness or self-fulfillment. Emerson and Douglass both imply that acquiring knowledge is what people should strive for throughout their lives. However, their perceptions on the kind of knowledge should be attained is where their ideas diverge; Emerson is the one that encourages one to develop the soul whereas with Douglass, it is the mind.
McMichael, Philip, ed 2012. Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective, 5th ed. London: Sage Publications, Inc.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines development as the act or process of growing or causing something to grow larger or more advanced. We live in a world that is continuously developing, in ways that we cannot even begin to try to describe. Nonetheless, The World Bank measures indicators of development. To do this, they look at three-hundred and thirty-one different indicators which cover a vast number of areas, including agriculture, aid effectiveness, climate change, economic policy, education, energy and mining, environment, the financial sector, poverty, science and technology, social development, and urban development. The World Bank’s World Development Indicators data is has been used for over fifty years as the standard by which development is measured. While this list may seem like a comprehensive, all-inclusive list, it does not consider the idea of sustainable development. While development for the sake of advancement may seem like a good option for an undeveloped country, it can be argued that development that is not sustainable is not development at all, but merely the illusion of one.
Pieterse, Jan. "Dilemmas of Development Discourse: The Crisis of Developmentalism and the Comparative Method" in Development and Change 22 (1991)
To present his argument, Ferguson uses the first three chapters to define and analyse the concept of development. In this analysis he implicitly implies that there is a gap between what is planned and what is implemented in development schemes, that development is a gross injustice. This theme is continued throughout the book and can be seen over and again other examples that Ferguson uses. The next two chapters ...
Throughout the chapter the text exerts more emphasis on the economical evaluation of a country's development rather than the alternative method. It begins to branch off quickly into the classification of countries deriving new topics all relating back to the economical approach. Beginning this discussion is the topic of underdevelopment.
Economic development is fundamentally about enhancing the factors of productive capacity, such as land, labor, capital, and technology, of a national, state, or local economy, as stated by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Economic development influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance economic well-being. We experience economic growth when our standard of living is rising. Rather than being a simplistic process, economic development typically is a range of influences aimed at achieving objectives like creating jobs and wealth and improving the quality of life. It incorporates coordinated initiatives targeted at expanding infrastructure and increasing the volume and/or quality of goods and services produced by a community. A common measure of economic development is a country’s gross national ...
Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it doesn’t compromise the ability of future generations to survive and make better lives for themselves as well. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it doesn’t cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.
In a contemporary world, poverty is inter-linked with systemic deprivation of rights and related to the notion of Human Development
In international parlance, development encompasses the need and the means by which to provide better life for people in poor countries and it includes not only economic growth, although that is crucial, but also human development like...
Sustainability development has three components: environment, society, and economy. If you consider the three to be overlapping circles of the same size, the area of overlap in the center is human well-being. As the environment, society, and economy become more aligned, the area of overlap increases, and so does human well-being. Therefore, education for sustainable development (ESD) is the use of education as a tool to achieve sustainability. Simply put, ESD is a way to make the world a safer, healthier, and more livable place for us and future generations (McKeown, 2002, pgs 7-9).
In class we discussed what sustainable development meant to us; each group had its own definition. Our group’s definition was that sustainable development is for the long term for future generations, for the basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, and job. The basic will increase over time and our resources will diminish, which why sustainable development is important. Sustainable development is important for future generations so that they end up with a world better than ours. Sustainable development is achievable if society works together to meet everyone’s basic needs and create a better world.