Cultures of Development
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Cultures of Development The North Atlantic development establishment has had a blemished track record over the past 65 years. In addition to a sizeable portfolio of failure, the few economic success stories in the developing world, such as South Korea and China, have been achieved by rejecting the advice of Western experts. Despite these realities, debates within mainstream development studies have stagnated around a narrow, acultural emphasis on institutions or the size and role of government. Cultures of Development uses a contrapuntal comparison of Vietnam and Brazil to show why it is important for development scholars and practitioners to broaden their conceptualization of economies to include the socio-cultural. This smartly written book based on original, ethnographic research breathes new life into development studies by bringing cultural studies into conversation with develop - ment studies, with an emphasis on improving—rather than merely critiquing— market economies. The applied deployment of critical development studies, i.e., interpretive economics, results in a number of theoretical advances in both development and areas studies, demonstrating the economic importance of certain kinds of cultural work carried out by religious leaders, artists, activists, and educators. Most importantly, the reader comes to fully appreciate how economies are embedded within the subjectivities, discourses, symbols, rituals, norms, and values of a given society. This pioneering book revives development practice and policy by offering fresh insights and ideas about how development can be advanced. It will be of special interest to scholars and students of Development Studies, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, and Area Studies. Jonathan Warren is Associate Professor of International Studies and Co-Director of the Center for Brazilian Studies at the University of Washington. V O U C H E R S Routledge Studies in Development and Society For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/Routledge- Studies-in-Development-and-Society/book-series/SE0317 35 The Paradigm of International Social Development Ideologies, Development Systems and Policy Approaches Murli Desai 36 Governance, Development, and Social Work Edited by Chathapuram S. Ramanathan and Subhabrata Dutta 37 Mining and Social Transformation in Africa Mineralizing and Democratizing Trends in Artisanal Production Deborah Bryceson, Eleanor Fisher, Jesper Bosse Jønsson and Rosemarie Mwaipopo 38 The End of the Developmental State? Edited by Michelle Williams 39 The Language of Global Development A Misleading Geography Marcin Wojciech Solarz 40 Informal Urban Street Markets International Perspectives Edited by Clifton Evers and Kirsten Seale 41 Cultures of Development Vietnam, Brazil and the Unsung Vanguard of Prosperity Jonathan Warren V O U C H E R S Cultures of Development Vietnam, Brazil and the Unsung Vanguard of Prosperity Jonathan Warren V O U C H E R S First published 2017 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2017 Jonathan Warren The right of Jonathan Warren to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Names: Warren, Jonathan W., author. Title: Cultures of development : Vietnam, Brazil and the unsung vanguard of prosperity / Jonathan Warren. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge studies in development and society | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016026141| ISBN 9781138672475 (hardback) | ISBN 9781315543338 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Economic development—Cross-cultural studies. | Economic development—Vietnam. | Economic development—Brazil. | Economics—Sociological aspects. Classification: LCC HD75 .W357 2017 | DDC 338.9597—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016026141 ISBN: 978-1-138-67247-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-54333-8 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK V O U C H E R S For Chelle Chelle V O U C H E R S V O U C H E R S Contents List of Illustrations ix List of Tables xi Acknowledgments xiii 1 Interpretive Economics 1 2 The Poison of Progress 41 3 Indigenizing Modernity 79 4 Corruption and the Commons 107 5 Development Lore 145 6 Trade Tips 165 Appendix A: Interview Schedule in Vietnam 177 Appendix B: Demographics of Interviewees in Vietnam and Brazil 179 Index 181 V O U C H E R S V O U C H E R S Illustrations Figures 1.1 Sugar Cane Cutters in Sao Paulo 10 1.2 Author in Can Tho 31 2.1 A Blue-Collar Worker with her Daughter 45 2.2 People of Babilonia 48 2.3 Favela in Rio de Janeiro 51 2.4 Farmers in Hung Yen 56 2.5 Hanoian Architect 58 2.6 No by Nguyen Cong Cu, 2006 59 2.7 Vision 4 by Nguyen Cong Cu, 2008 59 3.1 Hanoian Entrepreneurs 83 3.2 Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine 87 3.3 Roosters by Nguyen Tu Nghiem, 2005 89 3.4 Revolutionary Soldier who fought during the 1940s 93 4.1 A Family Altar 118 4.2 A Babilonia Family 121 4.3 Evangelical Christians, Babilonia 125 4.4 Anti-racist Activist in Salvador, Bahia 136 5.1 Rural House in Jequitinhonha Valley in the 1960s 148 5.2 Mayor Caca 149 5.3 Troubadours of the Valley 154 5.4 Maria Lira Marques 159 Maps 1.1 Primary Research Sites in Brazil 3 1.2 Primary Research Sites in Vietnam 4 5.1 Map of Jequitinhonha Valley 147 V O U C H E R S V O U C H E R S Tables 1.1 Annual GDP Growth (%) 8 1.2 Exports of Goods and Services (% of GDP) 8 2.1 Infrastructure, Investment, and Life Expectancy 68 4.1 Number of Major Crimes in Brazil and Vietnam 111 5.1 Human Development (HD) Index by Municipality in Jequitinhonha Valley 150 V O U C H E R S V O U C H E R S Acknowledgments It is impossible to thank the numerous people who have helped me with a project that spans three countries and over a decade of work. So I apologize in advance to the many individuals who deserve to be mentioned here but due largely to my poor memory are not credited below. This project would never have happened were it not for the Asia Foundation in Hanoi and the Luce Fellowship that I received to kick start the research for this book. The various people there—Jonathan Stromseth, Dinh Thi Kieu Nhung, Pham Thu Thuy, and Kim Ninh—were remarkably professional, hospitable, and supportive of me and my family. Other Hanoians who have been deeply caring as well as inspirational include Pho Duc Long, Mai Thi Thanh, Pham An Hai, Dang Xuan Hoa, Hoang Thuc Hao, Luong Vuong, and Nguyen Cong Cu (special thanks for letting me use reprints of your amazing artwork!). In Rio de Janeiro, I am heavily indebted to my dear friends who took care of me when I was penniless in Brazil some twenty-five years ago: Carla Simone Barbosa de Brito and Nando Neves (whose photos feature in this book) along with their children Matheus, Elizabeth, and Bia (who had to sacrifice her bedroom for me from time to time). I also wish to thank Eduardo Caio Torres dos Santos, Maria Isabel Sampaio, Ricardo Sheidemantel, and most especially Tania Torres dos Santos Scheidemantel for always keeping my wife and me in tears with her humor. I also much appreciate the camaraderie and academic guidance of the following scholars in Rio: Helena Galiza, Pedro de Novais Lima Junior, Carlos Vanier, and Ana Invanicki. In Aracuai I have had the incredibly good fortune (actually it feels more like divine intervention) to have had the support, friendship, and guidance of the following sages for well over two decades: Geralda Chaves Soares, Franciscus Henricus van der Poel, Maria do Carmo Ferreira da Silva, Maria Lira Marques, and Cleonice Pankararu. I hope I have done some justice to your incredible lives and accomplishments. In more recent years, I have been extremely lucky to have met and worked with the following activists and academics who have visited the University of Washington (UW) for extended periods of time and have offered me invaluable feedback on this project: Adailton de Oliveira Gomes, Kercia Figueiredo, Nivia Luz, Sylvana Marques, Marynize Prates de Oliveira, and Rodrigo Peixoto. V O U C H E R S xiv Acknowledgments At Seattle, a number of colleagues and students read and weighed in on various drafts of chapters and provided much needed encouragement: Robert Andolina, Andrea Arai, Charles Bergquist, Patrick Christie, Jay Freistadt, Christoph Giebel, Gary Hamilton, Joe Hannah, Don Hellman, Judith Henchey, Brice Henson, Victoria Lawson, Jose Antonio Lucero, Angelica and Scott Macklin, Joel Migdal, Ngo Hoang, Nguyen Diu Huong, Christian Novetske, Vincent Raphael, Ileana Rodriguez-Silva, Matthew Sparke, and Jim Wellman. Special thanks, too, to the UW Center for Brazilian Studies faculty: Margaret Griesse, Orlando Baiocchi, and the Honorary Counsel General of Brazil, Pedro Leite Augusto Costa. The UW- Frankfurt HI-NORM faculty cluster also deserves praise for their contributions to my thinking: Jose Casanova, Jurgen Habermas, Mathias Lutz-Bachmann, Gregg Miller, Amos Nascimento, Andres Niederberger, Mike Shapiro, and Bill Talbott.