Social Development : the Developmental Perspective In

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT THE DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE IN SOCIAL WELFARE James Midgley ® SAGE Publications London · Thousand Oaks · New Delhi ©James Midgley 1995 First published 1995 Reprinted 1998, 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission in writing from the Publishers. SAGE Publications Ltd 6 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4PU SAGE Publications Inc 2455 Teller Road Thousand Oaks, California 91320 SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd 32, M-Block Market Greater Kailash -1 New Delhi 110 048 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0-8039-7772 7 ISBN 0-8039-7773 5 (pbk) Library of Congress catalog card number 95-69626 Typeset by Μ Rules IN MEMORY OF Kiruba Moodley and Betty J. Stewart Contents Acknowledgements ix INTRODUCTION 1 Development and Distorted Development 2 The Need for Social Development 7 The Purpose and Scope of this Book 9 1 A DEFINITION OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 12 The Concept of Social Welfare 13 Approaches for Promoting Social Welfare 15 The Social Development Approach 23 Other Conceptions of Social Development 28 2 THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT 37 Theories of Social Change and Intervention 38 The Welfare State and Planning in the Industrial Countries 47 Colonialism and Social Welfare in the Third World 51 The United Nations and the Popularization of Social Development 56 The Demise and Resurgence of Social Development 64 3 THEORETICAL DEBATES 67 The Nature of Theory in Social Development 68 The Condition of Underdevelopment 71 The Process of Social Development 78 The Goals of Social Development 92 viii Social development 4 STRATEGIES FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 102 Social Development by Individuals 103 Social Development by Communities 114 Social Development by Governments 125 5 ACHIEVING SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: THE INSTITUTIONAL PERSPECTIVE 139 The Institutional Perspective 140 Implementing an Institutional Perspective 149 Achieving Social Development: Some Case Illustrations 164 The Challenge Ahead 175 References 177 Index 189 Acknowledgements Many people have supported and facilitated my efforts to write this book. As usual, Dija encouraged my work. Harvill Eaton and Ed Zganjar backed this project from the beginning and helped me find time to write. Thanks also to Michelle Livermore, Jenny Poulter and Jim Albins who assisted in various ways. I am grateful to Jim Billups and Stewart MacPherson who reviewed the proposal and advised Sage to publish this book. Special thanks go to David Hill, Karen Phillips and Gillian Stern for having confidence in my ideas. Margaret Hardiman and Michael Sherradan gave helpful advice on the final manuscript. Margaret's fine eye for detail helped me avoid many errors while Michael's comments, particularly on theoretical issues, were inci- sive. Colin Hutchens was a supportive copy-editor and Nicola Harris managed the project through production. Julie Hodgkinson worked hard to ensure that the book was properly marketed. To them and many others who helped this book evolve and see completion, I am grateful. I have dedicated this book to the memory of two dear friends with whom I shared my ideas on many happy occasions. Both are sadly missed. James Midgley Baton Rouge, Louisiana Introduction This book discusses an approach for promoting human welfare known as social development. Social development's most distinctive feature is its attempt to harmonize social policies with measures designed to promote economic development. While other institutionalized approaches for promoting social welfare such as philanthropy, social work and social administration have tangential links with economic development, none dynamically or purposefully harmonize economic and social objectives within a wider, development process. It is the empha- sis on development, together with its universality and macro-focus, that differentiates social development from the other approaches for promoting social welfare. Social development transcends the residual and institutional approaches which have dominated social welfare thinking in the past. While the residualist approach recommends that limited public resources be targeted on the most needy sections of the population, the institutional approach urges the extensive involvement of the state in all aspects of social welfare. Although these two approaches differ in the way they formulate policy proposals for allocating resources for social welfare, both create social interventions that are subsidiary to the economy and both are passively dependent on the economy for fund- ing. Neither is concerned with the way resources for social welfare are generated or with the fiscal problems that occur in times of economic adversity. As recent events have revealed, subsidiarity and dependence have created an uncertain, erratic and unsatisfactory relationship between social policy and the economy. The social developmental approach transcends the residualist-insti- tutionalist debate by linking social welfare directly to economic development policies and programmes. It draws extensively on the experience of the developing countries of the so-called Third World where the need for social policies that are compatible with economic development is paramount. However, the social development approach is relevant to all societies where efforts are under way to promote economic development. It stresses the need for a wider com- mitment to economic development and emphasizes the importance 2 Social development of social interventions that are compatible with economic development objectives. As will be shown in the final chapter of this book, this compatibility is fostered in different ways. As the twentieth century draws to a close, new approaches to promoting social welfare such as social development are urgently needed. The comprehensive 'welfare statism' which typified social policy thinking in the past has been widely criticized for failing to deal realistically with economic adversities and for neglecting to take the problems of recession, structural unemployment and other changing economic realities into account. Similarly, the minimalist welfare policies of the Radical Right which resulted in severe reductions in collective provi- sion during the 1980s have not only exacerbated social needs but disquieted many concerned citizens. Recent electoral trends and public opinion surveys suggest that many voters are not opposed to state intervention as such but that they desire social programmes that are reasonable, equitable and pragmatic. As economic difficulties persist in many parts of the world, social programmes that are compatible with economic development are likely to attract widespread support. Social development offers an approach which not only is cognizant of wider economic realities but actively promotes development. It is primarily about development and the ways social interventions can be harmo- nized with development objectives. DEVELOPMENT AND DISTORTED DEVELOPMENT The term 'development' is widely used today. For most people, it con- notes a process of economic change brought about by industrialization. The term also implies a process of social change resulting in urbaniza- tion, the adoption of a modern lifestyle, and new attitudes. Further, it has a welfare connotation which suggests that development enhances people's incomes and improves their educational levels, housing con- ditions and health status. However, of these different meanings, the concept of development is most frequently associated with economic change. For most people, development means economic progress. The adoption of economic development prescriptions during the last century has produced impressive results. This is true of both the Western industrial countries and the developing countries of the Third World. While there are significant differences in the extent to which development goals have been attained, the pursuit of development has generated unprecedented growth rates in most countries. It is probable that the economic achievements of the last hundred years far exceed those of the last millennium. In addition, economic development has been ubiquitous and there are today relatively few countries that are characterized by an absence of at least some degree of economic development. Introduction 3 Levels of social welfare have also improved significantly. Compared to the situation at the end of the nineteenth century, ordinary people today have higher incomes and standards of living, live longer and healthier lives, are better educated than ever before and have access to health and social services to a degree that few would have predicted a hundred years ago. Official reports published by the United Nations and the World Bank reveal that significant social improvements have taken place not only in the Western industrial nations but in the Third World. Despite the images of poverty and deprivation the Third World invokes, life expectancy in many developing countries has increased significantly, levels of education have risen, access to health care, sanitation and clean drinking water has improved, and social programmes have expanded. Critics of a pessimistic persuasion will, with justification, question the significance of these gains. They will note that grinding poverty still characterizes the lives of many millions

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