What is "Development"? What is its Opposite?


It's always been amazing to me the amount of emphasis placed on "science and math" while so little attention is on disciplines which see things more clearly. The latter are the social sciences. (A disclaimer, there is controversy about using the term "science" when discussing the study of cultures and societies. It is science in some ways, art in others. What falls under "science" is criticized by some in the social area because it makes subjective decisions there is order when this is not known.)

The link is an example of a social scientist seeing something missed by much of the political and academic world. It is a discussion of what is meant by "development" or by the term also used, "progress." We could add into the confusion the phrase "standard of living."

In the newspaper today where I live is a big article about changing the classification of two busy local highways from being "state highways" to "interstate highways." This will allow, community planners and politicians say, "development along these crucial roadways." I think this is happy talk for getting federal money to bulldoze whatever is beside the roads now and widen the highways. Some people will be made better off from this, some people harmed. We don't really know if society in total will be better off or worse off. What we know is that the term "development" is used and, in our culture, we have come to believe this is an improvement whether is actually is or is not.

The link points out that at this time in our history age longevity in the U.S. is falling. The frequency of some diseases is rising. The author did not mention housing but there is a tsunami of people soon to retire that will not be able to afford housing. This while cities are already seeing encampments of homeless people. 

The link points out our society doesn't have a tool or understanding of how to measure or even discuss whether various changes make us better off or worse off. She points out there are an endless number of conferences about "development" but there are none addressing reductions in development or lower standards of living. This, even though there are plenty of arguments we are experiencing a reduction. Better, she suggests, we learn to gauge our societal ability to survive rather than continuing to claim we constantly experience "development."  

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