A World That Works

Citation

Trainer, T. (1999), "A World That Works", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 235-237. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijse.1999.26.6.235.6

One of the most important yet least asked questions is, “What is development?” For decades after the Second World War the “modernisation” concept of development went unquestioned. Development for the Third World could only be conceived in terms of raising the levels of production, consumption and investment towards those characteristic of the rich countries. Development for the rich countries too could only be conceived in terms of increasing the volume of business turnover, i.e. raising the GNP. It has been taken for granted that development must be directed from the centre, by governments, corporations and experts, and that it must involve investment of large volumes of capital, elaborate infrastructures and sophisticated technologies. Development also inevitably means seeking integration into the global economy, i.e. exporting heavily, taking loans and welcoming foreign investment. Development is driven by the rich, by those who possess capital and those with the “effective demand”.

Though still overwhelmingly dominant, this unidimensional “development equals growth” conception of development is now increasingly being challenged. This is partly evident in the growing critical academic literature of rejection (e.g. Chussodowsky, 1997; Mander and Goldsmith, 1997; Trainer, 1995). More importantly and more encouragingly it can be seen in the emergence of alternative development practice in many parts of the world, rich and poor. In various regions and towns people seem to be spontaneously realising that conventional development theory and practice will never solve their problems and that people must come together to work out their own local ways of meeting their own needs. This can be seen as a very significant and encouraging turning point. It represents a widespread revulsion with and breaking away from an enormously powerful and repressive dominant ideology.

A World That Works documents many facets of this revolution. “Everywhere people are waking up to the realities of their situation in a globalising economy and are beginning to recognise that ... sociopolitical participation must be grounded in their local regional communities.” (p. 225.) “It is no exaggeration to say that local communities everywhere are on the front lines of what might well be characterised as the Third World War.” (p. 229.) “It is a contest between the competing goals of economic growth to maximise profits for absentee owners versus creating healthy communities that are good places for people to live.” (p. 230.)

Part 1 presents hard‐hitting critical commentaries on the way the modernisation paradigm has worked out in the experience of most of the world′s people. Despite generally rapid growth rates and the generation of vast wealth for a few, little or no progress has been made on the most urgent development problems. Stroyer refers to “...four decades of failed development.” (p. 6.) Indeed the numbers in greatest poverty have actually increased. The United Nation′s 1966 Human Development Report concluded that the poorest one‐third of all people on Earth are getting poorer.

Part 2 takes up the kind of questions I began with above, asking “What is real wealth?” Meaningful discussion of development is not possible unless we are clear about goals. Contributors to this part attack the conventional implicit assumption that increasing economic turnover increases the quality of life, and that more consumption means higher living standards. They consider what might constitute real wealth, and they discuss the need to “embed” the economy in society, i.e. to ensure that merely economic goals and processes are kept firmly under the control of social forces, such as morality, justice, tradition and the conditions necessary for social cohesion.

Part 3 asks “What is real sustainability?” David Korten points to the incompatibility of sustainable communities and the global economy. The crucial importance of local community self‐sufficiency is taken up by various contributors. Many initiatives, devices and example cases are discussed, such as microcredit, which can be seen as sources of local “...resistance to the structural violence of global capitalism.” (p. 1.) The focal concern is to revitalise and protect local communities, households, small producers and farmers.

Local currencies are discussed, in the context of “dual development”, i.e. enabling small communities to build their own arrangements for meeting their own needs, within an economic sphere separate from the national and international economies.

Chapter 6 considers the realm of research in relation to the distinction between elite‐centred versus people‐centred development. It is pointed out that most research is expert‐led, expensive and carried out on the questions that interest corporations. (Could there be a more glaring illustration than the current development of the “terminator gene” that will make it impossible for farmers to grow food from the seed they save?) This chapter encourages small groups of local people to take on the study of their own needs and problems.

Part 4 connects sustainability, justice and appropriate development with the question of global peace and security. A peaceful world order is inconceivable without justice and satisfactory development. Unless there is much greater equality in the distribution of global wealth and unless people have reasonable living standards in sustainable ecosystems, we must expect continuing and accelerating conflict and violence in the world.

The last three pages summarise the principles of alternative development argued and illustrated throughout the book, viz., participation, material simplicity and sufficiency with “ceilings for consumption”, equity, accountability and transparency in decision making, and the classic anarchist rule that decisions and functions should not be taken at higher levels if they can be effectively taken at lower levels.

I thought some of the contributions were not so valuable and that some of the editing and editorial commentary could have been more effective. The contributions are short so one can easily scan for the discussions in which one is most interested. A few contributions seem somewhat out of character in flirting with reforms to capitalism, e.g. by appealing to greater responsibility on the part of corporations and considering environmental principles for product design. However, most of the contributions are in line with the “dark green” position that the environmental problem is basically due to gross over‐production and over‐consumption and therefore cannot be solved without a huge reduction in the volume of production, investment, sales, corporations and economic turnover (Trainer, 1998). Thus it cannot be solved in the present economy which must constantly increase production for sale. The book as a whole constitutes a valuable and encouraging contribution to an accelerating transition in thinking and practice re‐development, the global predicament and the form a sustainable and just world order must take.