Narratives and Counternarratives in the Contemporary Development Community

JESSIKA TREMBLAY

STORIES THAT HAVEN’T CHANGED THE WORLD: NARRATIVES AND COUNTERNARRATIVES IN THE CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the arguments of six contemporary development experts who have sought and proposed solutions to extreme poverty. The paper argues, through the application of Emery Roe’s narrative policy analysis, that though these solutions appear varied and innovative, they continue to be couched in mid-twentieth century evolutionist models of development. Two experts are singled out as offering original approaches to the “problem” of development: William Easterly and Amartya Sen.

INTRODUCTION slight variations on old ideas re- hashed to make them look refresh- The international development com- ing. An analysis of a variety of texts munity has been working to find so- representing the most recent attempts lutions to poverty and improve the to overhaul the system reveals the in- developing world’s living standards creasingly visible predicament of an for now over half a century. A pano- industry that has repeatedly failed to ply of “eureka” schemes designed deliver on promises to eradicate pov- by experts to eradicate poverty once erty and global suffering. Develop- and for all have emerged during this ment experts such as Jeffrey Sachs, period, each one claiming to have Robert Calderisi, Paul Collier, and learned from the errors committed Gregory Clark are representative by their predecessors to uncover members of this “eureka-scheme the “real” solution to global (eco- clique,” having followed the mantra nomic) inequality. The illusion cre- of development-as-economic-growth ated by this influx of development in their attempts to fix the industry. theories and approaches is that the Significantly, the schemes that seem mainstream development commu- most promising are not schemes at nity is making progress and moving all, but suggested alternatives that closer to the ideal scenario where move beyond the clichés and outdat- poor countries, which represent one ed principles evinced by the former. sixth of the world’s population, will Amartya Sen and William Easterly some day catch up economically to are renegades in their field, having the richest countries. Simply put, this proposed unconventional approaches is not the case. Many of the ideas to development that move away from that are presented as new are merely the outdated and often deleterious 90 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 assumptions that pervade main- ernational development community stream development theory. would not exist. Let me posit, therefore, that Easterly takes the most Following Emery Roe’s (1999) con- compelling approach to develop- cept of counternarrative, I argue that ment by making light of the failures the conventional solutions proposed of big-push interventionist programs by most economic practitioners con- that have ruled development theory tinue to fail because despite being and practice in the past. Of the sam- disguised as subversive, they are ple of development theorists I have founded on tried and tired premises examined, he is the only one who de- that have failed in the past. Mean- parts from the axiomatic view that an while, the approaches that have ac- outside (white) hand is crucial to the tually proposed a radical break from betterment of the human condition. the mainstream are still rather new Sen (2000), on the other hand, makes and have yet to be popularized in the most compelling and original ar- the milieu and therefore, lack the guments from within the interven- authoritative weight to yet make a tionist camp for changing the way significant impact. The risk in this we view development. standpoint is of course the possibility that these alternative approaches will WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT? also prove fruitless in the future, but the fact that they represent a break Before addressing the various devel- from hackneyed economic panaceas opment approaches, it is necessary to gives some measure of hope. examine what development means. Development, both academically This essay applies Roe’s approach of and colloquially, is often conceptual- using contemporary literary theory ized as a linear, forward process of to examine development discourse in change, both on a local and a global order to guide policy more effective- scale, favouring economic growth ly. At the same time it turns the ap- or other avenues (such as foreign proach back on itself to reveal a pos- aid) for attaining a highly desired sible complicity in the perpetuation status of material, social, and per- of a particular “teleological metanar- sonal well-being. Development is rative” (Ferguson 1999:15) of de- often seen as both a process and a velopment that touts intervention state, especially at the country level, as the unique solution to economic whereby developing nations are seen backwardness. That Roe proposes a as lacking certain elements present method of studying various (faulty) in developed nations, while taking narratives to generate alternatives steps to gain those desired elements by guiding policy in a new direction (i.e. high GDP per capita, low death makes the fundamental assumption rates, industrialization, high employ- that outside intervention is necessary ment rates, etc). and vital to improving the well-being of humanity worldwide. It is clear Other popular definitions view - de that without this assumption the int- velopment as “the end of poverty” 91 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 (Sachs 2005), modernization through economic growth that allows it economic growth (Rostow 1960), to attain the desired final stage of catching-up to the world’s richest “high-consumption” (Rist 1997:98). economies by increasing income Modernization, then is a “nakedly (Clark 2007), etc. Unconventional evolutionist narrative” (Ferguson definitions include viewing devel- 1999:16) that views development as opment as freedom (Sen 2000) and the shedding of the primitiveness and development as home-grown, non- backwardness of tradition to don the interventionist solutions to poverty high-speed progressiveness of mo- (Easterly 2006). The first set of pre- dernity through economic growth. liminary definitions has emerged ap- proximately in the last decade with According to Rist, the principles of the exception of Rostow. Yet their fo- modernization theory started to bud cus on economy, wealth, and income in politics on January 20th, 1949 at has its origins in 1940s economic President Truman’s Inaugural Ad- development discourse and 1960s dress. In one speech Truman simul- modernization theory. taneously started his presidential career and a half-century of devel- The idea that poor countries suffer opment discourse that continues to from some sort of affliction prevent- permeate the international commu- ing them from climbing the ladder nity today (Rist 1997:71-72). During of prosperity or evolving past the his address he framed development universal primordial stage of pov- in terms of economic growth and erty stems from a long tradition in the improvement of material living the West of understanding social standards for the world’s most des- change from a teleological point of titute, creating a platform on which view. Anthropology has been good subsequent development economists at pointing the finger at its own 19th (like Rostow) would spring forth to century forefathers such as Spencer propose action plans for boosting for erroneously applying Darwin’s economic growth where it had been evolutionary principles to the study reduced to a trickle. The uncertainty of societies. Yet these principles that emerged as a result of attempt- had a firm grip even up to the 1960s ing to apply a grand and simple solu- when Walt Rostow penned his Stages tion to a highly complex issue was of Economic Growth (1959), which almost immediate. Failed attempts took an evolutionary approach to de- led to more earnest efforts at the velopment and modernization. “For same breed of solution, yet experts Rostow, the main thing is to move were always perplexed at the reasons from tradition to modernity” (Rist for these disappointments. 1997:96). From this point of view, society becomes developed when it There has been little divergence in has moved through the five stages the mainstream development com- of economic growth through which munity from this early conception of it acquires the necessary skills and development. Those who deviate are technologies to sustain a level of a minority, but the force of their arg- 92 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 uments reveals a debate in the theo- ity of a situation and simplify the ries and practices surrounding devel- factors to make way for quick and opment. The two counternarratives (apparently) easy solutions. The de- in this debate, I argue (using Roe’s sertification scenario, for example, analytical framework), will serve the proposes the “insidious, spreading development community in generat- process that is turning many of the ing a triangulated and synthesized world’s marginal fields and pas- conclusion. Triangulation occurs tures into barren wastelands” (Roe when divergent approaches, such as 1999:4-5). Where the development the ones mentioned above, converge community has insisted for years (Roe 1999:41-44). I argue that the that desertification is a major threat conclusion one must arrive at after on the African continent, and that scrutinizing the narratives of most the problem is worsening each year, modern development theorists is more recent studies suggest there is that structure-oriented, big-push ap- no evidence to support the claim. proaches are ineffectual and should So why do we continue to act as if be replaced by the less popular agent- desertification is a major priority? oriented, home-grown approaches Crisis scenarios and other narratives foregrounded by Sen and Easterly. of the sort persist because no alternatives have emerged to replace them. NARRATIVES AND Roe explains that simply criticizing COUTNERNARRATIVES the narrative by appealing to empiri- cal evidence does nothing for policy; This leads me to a brief but crucial what is needed is a counternarrative, discussion of Roe’s analytical frame- or a “rival hypothesis or set of hy- work for understanding rural devel- potheses that could plausibly reverse opment programs, as I will be apply- what appears to be the case, where ing it to a number of development the reversal in question, even if it alternatives proposed in recent years. proved factually not to be the case, Roe proposes that the key to success- nonetheless provides a possible poli- ful development requires a “politics cy option for future attention because of complexity” that is non-existent in of its very plausibility” (1999:9). the crisis scenarios or narratives that have guided policy to date (1999:4). If we follow Roe, then, in his appli- Roe explains that when faced with cation of literary theory to extremely highly complex and uncertain devel- difficult public policy issues such opment scenarios, practitioners are as development, it becomes evident often obliged to come up with a nar- that what is needed is not only a fas- rative or story that will stabilize pol- tidious critique of the existing devel- icy-making. Evidence is often con- opment narratives, but an alternative flicting, contradictory, or sparse in narrative that can act as a plausible these situations, which complicates solution to the repeated failures of decision-making. Crisis scenarios previous development approaches emerge as a solution to these condi- (1994:1). Let me take it one step fur- tions when they ignore the complex- ther in suggesting that a simple alt- 93 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 ernative is not sufficient in this sense; James Ferguson’s conceptualization what is necessary is an alternative of wealth and poverty provides a good that breaks far enough away from illustration. Whereas most, as men- the norm to escape the oft invisible tioned above, characterize poverty as and pernicious premises from which largely the result of a lack of income, these narratives have sprung. And Ferguson argues that “the question of this is where my argument comes in: wealth cannot be separated from the Sen and Easterly, in my view, have wider sociocultural context within actually developed the counternar- which different categories of wealth ratives to which other authors have acquire their meaning” (1992:55). laid claim. The “assumption of universal ex- change,” which pervades Western What will follow is a discussion of conceptualizations of wealth, is the the various development approaches belief that different forms of wealth, propounded by each author inter- such as income, housing, labour spersed with a discussion of the vari- power, clothing, etc, can be convert- ous theoretical and axiomatic prem- ed into each other to form a common ises which have locked development currency (Ferguson 1992:56). What approaches into a circular path of is often ignored, Ferguson explains, failure, and then, more cheerfully, is that different goods mean different the reasons why the “renegades” things in different contexts. In Leso- have a better chance of success. tho, for example, he found it impos- sible to rank the various households THE PROBLEM in a village according to their levels of wealth because each had a com- Though the concept of development bination of goods which were often appears simple, concrete, and certain nonconvertible and could not be in its concern with bringing the poor transformed into a universal currency up to par with the wealthier segment for evaluation. If one household had of the human population, the concept nice clothing but lived in a mud hut, itself is rife with uncertainty, com- while another wore rags while living plexity, and change. In the simplest in a lavish home that was inherited terms, one would expect that the but could not be sold, how was the problem that development seeks to author to establish which was the fix is poverty and that the solution wealthiest? This one example gives to that poverty would be an injection a sense of the complexity involved of money. Yet a cursory examination in understanding poverty itself, let of the development literature reveals alone attempting to understand what that there are as many definitions of development is supposed to entail. the problem as there are writers on the topic. The corollary, of course, is Just as Roe (1999) suggests, in the that there are just as many solutions face of high complexity and uncer- to the problem as definitions (despite tainty in development scenarios, sto- being variations on the same theme ries emerge from the development ex- of economic growth). perts to help stabilize policy making. 94 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 Each of the experts I examine has instinct to blame the poor for their his own story about why such a large own poverty. The second angle re- proportion of humanity remains un- veals the underlying assumption derdeveloped, yet often with over- permeating the entire book: the lapping themes rooted in outdated double-edged belief that extreme philosophical assumptions. poverty results from a lack of economic growth, and that if a way to Poverty Traps stimulate economic growth can be found, poverty will end. Currently, For Jeffrey Sachs, it is “our task to however, structural constraints such help [the poor] onto the ladder of de- as geography, where some countries velopment” (2005:2). In The End of suffer economic stagnation due to Poverty (2005), he tells the story of high transportation costs accrued how the world’s poor came to be, and through being landlocked, or where still remain poor. He shares the view poor countries cannot offer a market with many other experts that global for their own technological innova- poverty is a structural problem stem- tions – resulting in an innovation gap ming from factors external to the between rich and poor countries – lie agents who suffer its consequences. in the way of these countries achiev- Sachs tells a story that seems aimed ing the necessary growth for them to at refuting the notion (still popular in get a foot on the development ladder some spheres) that the poor are poor so they can pull themselves out of because they are lazy and undisci- poverty (Sachs 2005). plined, or because their governments are corrupt, so all they need to do is Sachs’ approach is refreshing in two be like “us” and they will prosper ways. First, it takes into account a (Sachs 2005:56). He argues “the variety of factors leading to the eco- poor face structural challenges that nomic stagnation of the world’s poor- keep them from getting even their est countries, which adds an element first foot on the ladder of -develop of complexity to what could have eas- ment” (Sachs 2005:226). He refers to ily been construed as a one-variable these structural challenges as “pov- problem. Second, it recognizes the erty traps.” Eight reasons (poverty weakness in common development traps) are listed for why there remains approaches that search for the mag- a growing gap between the rich and ic-bullet solution. From this view, he the poor: poverty as a cause for eco- argues it is necessary to invest in six nomic stagnation, physical geogra- types of capital rather than relying phy, fiscal traps, governance failures, on the easy policy solution of look- cultural barriers, geopolitics, lack ing for one “decisive investment that of innovation, and demographics. will turn the tide” (Sachs 2005:255). Without going into too much detail, Sachs also proposes as a general so- this story can be analyzed from two lution that the development commu- angles, the first having already been nity should attack the eight poverty mentioned in suggesting that Sachs is traps with solutions tailored to each seeking an alternative to the common in order to overcome global poverty. 95 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 From Roe’s perspective, this would the ladders of growth while some be an adequate counternarrative to unlucky poor countries have fallen the magic-bullet experts who seek down the chutes. He equates the real- a one-dimensional answer to a com- ity of the poor folk with a 14th centu- plex problem construed to be sim- ry reality, characterized by “civil war, pler than it is. The reason for this plague, ignorance” coexisting with is that Sachs offers answers that are the 21st century, tacking the idea of conducive to policy making; in fact, social evolution to that of economic he even lays out a strategy for end- growth (Collier 2007:3-5). ing extreme poverty by 2025 by following the aforementioned advice Collier shares with Sachs a number (Sachs 2005:227). The problem, in of assumptions about poverty and my opinion, is that this same breed how to eradicate it. First, because of solution has been tried before. he takes the poverty trap approach, Even though he differs in some mi- he believes there are structural con- nor respects in his approach, the ba- straints preventing the poorest coun- sis of his argument is cemented in tries from achieving the same levels the hegemonic belief that economic of wealth as the rest of the world. growth is the answer to poverty. Second, he believes economic growth is an important factor in the Chutes and Ladders recovery of these countries from the brink of despair. According to Col- Paul Collier wrote The Bottom Bil- lier, “growth is not a cure-all, but the lion: Why the Poorest Countries lack of growth is a kill-all” (2007: are Failing and What Can be Done 190). And finally, he is a proponent About it (2007) to address why one of big-push strategies geared toward billion people have failed to achieve intervention schemes for attacking economic growth that would bring the obstacles to economic growth them to the level of the five billion (Collier 2007:184). Where he di- who have escaped extreme poverty. verges from Sachs is in his insistence He draws on Jeffrey Sachs’ concept on focusing not only on investment of poverty traps and focuses on those or aid to achieve these goals, but traps which he deems to have re- also on security, policy and charters, ceived the least attention: the conflict and trade. To break the conflict trap, trap, the natural resources trap, the for example, post-conflict countries trap of being landlocked, and the bad need foreign military intervention to governance trap. Much like Sachs, keep the peace, as well as long-term Collier tells a story of how one small aid to help them get back on their part of the world missed out on the feet after conflict (Collier 2007:177). wealth and riches that the rest of the And since “there is no world govern- world enjoys because of obstacles ment […] remedying the problems of that got in the way. He advises the the bottom billion is a global public reader to “think […] of development good,” which means the world needs as chutes and ladders,” where the to find ways to legislate these big- rich countries have managed to climb push strategies and impose condition- 96 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 ality on aid in order to ensure they – and wealth alone – is the crucial work (Collier 2007:183-184). determinant of lifestyles, both within and between societies” (Clark Collier, along with the critics who 2007:3). He claims that while the in- awarded him the Lionel Gelber Prize dustrial revolution “reduced income for his book, seem to find something inequalities within societies, it has innovative in this approach, despite increased them between societies,” the fact that it draws on the concept a process which he refers to as the of the poverty trap, which he him- “Great Divergence” (Clark 2007:3, self admits is an in-vogue approach emphasis in original). In response to to development discourse. He even the question - why are some countries claims that the global inequality that richer than others? - Clark appeals to exists today will persist unless “we two main factors: technology and de- radically change our approach” (Col- mographics. In his view, all societies lier 2007:5). To him, the poverty trap were poor until the Industrial Revo- approach is the answer to that chal- lution, after which an exponential in- lenge. Yet again, Collier comes up crease in technological innovation in against many of the same limitations the West created a process whereby as Sachs in his focus on economics these countries experienced a rise and intervention. His solutions smack in incomes while the rest saw a de- of the same assumptions and errors crease. committed by the Breton Woods institutions that imposed strong condi- Clark claims technological efficiency tionality on governments for loans in is a major factor in producing the in- the 1980s, and which did virtually come gap. The success of countries nothing to improve the living condi- like England are attributed to “acci- tions of the poorest. These concepts dents of institutional stability and de- have been tried repeatedly and have mography,” where a combination of failed repeatedly, yet they continue to slow population growth and the fer- be recycled by economists like Sachs tility of the rich meant an increase in and Collier for lack of an alternative the “embedding of bourgeois values” (counternarrative) that seems more into the culture, and even perhaps, he effective. argues, the genes of the population. A low-population society permeated Malthus-Resurrected by values conducive to economic growth such as “hard work, patience, Gregory Clark also writes of traps honesty, rationality, curiosity, and when attempting to negotiate the learning” meant that labourers were reasons behind the current global in- able to use innovative technolo- come gap, but rather than a poverty gies efficiently because they had the trap he refers to a Malthusian trap. know-how and the discipline to do Clark traces the growing gap between so (Clark 2007:11). The same tech- rich and poor to the industrial revolu- nologies transported to countries that tion. Fundamentally, he believes that were lacking these values with high “there is ample evidence that wealth population growth suffered from 97 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 poor productivity because the same ernmental level, which will impose machines needed a greater number constraints and limitations on un- of labourers to make up for their in- derdeveloped countries, we risk the efficiencies, which meant a lower re- same mistakes as the infamous Struc- turn on labour (Clark 2007:334-35). tural Adjustment Programs (SAPs). Clark manages to inject a social and But if we follow Clark’s point of cultural dimension into the type of view, we sit back on our haunches narrative common to the “poverty and cross our fingers, hoping for the trap” theorists – that all of mankind best – not a viable option, especially shared in the existence of poverty but from Roe’s perspective that some structural constraint, be it geography, conflict, demography or Blaming the Poor culture prevented one unlucky por- tion of the population from digging Robert Calderisi is a former spokes- itself out of its own misery. Clark’s person on Africa for the World Bank. story differs from the others in its He wrote The Trouble with Africa: ending; rather than proposing a big- Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working push scheme or even a small-scale (2006) as a critique of the popular solution, Clark offers no solution at assumption that the West is to blame all: for Africa’s lack of development. The problem, according to Calderisi, History shows […] that the West has no is that the international community is model of economic development to offer the still-poor countries of the world. suffering from white guilt and con- There is no simple economic medicine tinues to blame Africa’s problems that will guarantee growth, and even on colonialism and neo-imperialist complicated economic surgery offers policy that has designed flopped pro- no clear prospect of relief for societies afflicted with poverty. Even direct gifts grams like the SAPs. Because of this, of aid have proved ineffective in stimu- rich countries continue to prescribe lating growth (2007:373). an increase in monetary aid to both ease their consciences and help the Though this approach diverges from poor. Calderisi tells the story of a the others, it hardly qualifies as a continent that has been independent useful counternarrative given its lack now for forty years and has already of policy relevance. It offers an ex- overcome its biggest obstacles to de- planation (although not necessarily a velopment. It is now time to “throw new one, given its reliance on Thom- the spotlight back on Africa” because as Malthus’ 200 year old ideas) for “Africa is now responsible for its why some parts of the world remain own problems” (Calderisi 2006:7). poor, but fails to offer an alternative More aid, he believes, will not help for the development community. At Africa. The issue is not a lack of this point we are caught between two funds, but improper management of extremes. If we follow the big-push funds. He points out that “half of the schemes that promote direct foreign world’s aid has been reserved for Af- intervention from a top-down, gov- rica” in recent years and yet the development reports show no progress 98 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 in economic growth or living stan- attached. Countries receiving aid dards (Calderisi 2006:15). should be monitored for transpar- ency and democracy, much like in The obstacles to growth then, are not the SAP era. So despite the appeal poverty traps or Malthusian traps, of a story with a different ending structural problems stemming from and strongly radical roots, the solu- external constraints, but rather are tions have themes common to failed internal to the continent. Africa is programs. Calderisi is also another poor because of “culture, corruption, proponent of the interventionist ap- and political correctness” (Calderisi proach. He argues that development 2006:77). In short, Africans share should not be left to a laissez-faire certain cultural traits like a desire to economy but that good public policy share, familial values, and respect for is crucial because it will “put young elders that predispose them to accept- girls in school, provide clean wa- ing bad governance, which would ter, and fight HIV/AIDS ruthlessly” not happen in a region where indi- (Calderisi 2006:9). vidualism and rationality are domi- nant values (Calderisi 2006:77-99). THE RENEGADES Corruption prevents foreign aid from reaching its targets and thus impedes Amartya Sen and William Easterly the development projects for which offer, in my opinion, the most inter- it was intended. And finally, because esting counternarratives to the domi- foreigners feel guilty for colonialism nant teleological metanarrative of and racism, they feel obligated to interventionist development. They compensate Africa for its misdeeds. tell two completely different stories Calderisi argues that corrupt Africans about what development is and what benefit from this “guilt-mongering” it should be. By “reversing old pat- as it permits them to avoid taking terns of thinking” (Roe 1999:8) and responsibility for their own develop- taking as the starting point the fail- ment (2006:92). ures of other approaches, Sen and Easterly have mastered the art of However counter-intuitive, Calde- counternarrativizing. Yet their policy risi (2006:209) seems to advocate relevance remains questionable. One a strong alternative in proposing to of the main facets of Roe’s argument reduce foreign aid by half instead is that counternarratives should be of increasing it, as other prominent geared toward producing alterna- spokespersons like Stephen Lewis tives that will promote plausible (2005) have recommended. The log- policy options to replace former inef- ic behind this is that countries receiv- fective ones. As mentioned at the being less aid are more likely to bud- ginning of this essay, the assumption get wisely and send the funds where that policy, and by extension external they are really needed. Problematic intervention, are necessary for the in this approach is the conditionality achievement of development may be that accompanies the aid as Calderisi somewhat problematic. Clark seems proposes that foreign aid have strings to take this view in his refusal to of- 99 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 fer concrete solutions to the problem than ghettoizing his field of inves- of global poverty. But his approach tigation only into a market-oriented reeks of defeat since he believes approach, he expands his gaze by there simply is no solution, which using a determinant that acts as an gets us nowhere. Where Sen and explanatory umbrella for multiple Easterly depart from this continuum spheres that affect development. Ar- of extremes (from defeatist inaction istotle qualified this when he said: to top-down policy intervention) is “wealth is evidently not the good we their ability to come up with novel are seeking; for it is merely useful ways both of conceptualizing and and for the sake of something else” remedying the problem of develop- (Sen 2000:14). ment. Sen is unique in his conceptualization of development as a path To summarize briefly his argument, towards increasing individual free- Sen asserts that poverty is not simply dom, and Easterly in his formulation the lack of economic resources, but of alternatives for solving economic occurs when an individual’s elemen- and material inequalities that lead to tary capabilities are deprived (2000: extreme poverty. 20). By contrast to the poverty trap theorists who take a structural per- Capability Deprivation spective on development, Sen focuses on the “agency aspect” of the Whereas Clark and the other devel- individual; greater freedom means opment experts cited above make it individual actors can help themselves clear that they believe “wealth – and and influence the world (2000:18). wealth alone” is the determinant to Sen argues, then, that “Development consider in order to gauge the well- requires the removal of major sourc- being of a population, Sen voices a es of unfreedom: poverty as well as different opinion. He believes that a tyranny, poor economic opportuni- focus on integrating poor economies ties as well as systematic social de- into the global market to help im- privation, neglect of public facilities prove the lives of the destitute misses as well as intolerance or over activity the point (Sen 2007:3). It is too nar- of repressive states” (2000:18). row of a perspective that ignores the other crucial elements that also have Sen admits that income is indeed an impact on the quality of life. Sen important to the development of zones in on freedom as a major de- personal well-being, but it does not terminant for assessing well-being. trump the importance of the indi- He argues this approach is broader vidual’s capacity to help himself. He and more inclusive because it takes gives the example of Kerala, a large “a view of development as an inte- and populous province in India that grated process of expansion of sub- benefited from the government’s pri- stantive freedoms that connect with oritizing of social services such as one another,” so that “economic, so- health care and education. Though cial and political considerations” are personal income did not rise during integrated (Sen 2000:8). So rather this time, life expectancy rose to lev- 100 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 els higher than in richer countries He would also sorely disagree with like Brazil and South Africa (Sen Calderisi’s assertion that Africa, and 2000:46). What is more, this ap- by extension other post-colonial de- proach breaks away in a sense from veloping countries, are to blame for the modernization metanarrative that their backward slide into extreme describes development as a teleolog- poverty. In fact he blames coloniza- ical process of economic accumula- tion, and what he calls “white mis- tion for personal well-being. De- chief” for the development problems velopment is no longer viewed as a faced by these countries today (East- means for obtaining income/wealth, erly 2006:347). He believes that de- but as a means for improving quality colonization left most developing of life. countries - in Africa especially - in cultural and economic ruin, and that Sen’s strength in argument is effec- the combination of white man’s guilt tively his greatest weakness in terms and superiority complex encour- of policy relevance. An approach this aged him to muddle in the affairs of nuanced and thorough risks either these countries in order to help them: being ignored by development prac- “Long-standing Western enthusiasm titioners who cannot fathom a way to for bringing the Middle-Kingdom incorporate all of the variables into into the modern world has included an effective and plausible policy for the use of White Man’s Burden brew action, or it risks being atrophied of Christianity, civilization, and into a policy that has streamlined the commerce” (Easterly 2006:351). complexity of the narrative in order More recent interventions by the to zone in on one or two seemingly West have focused on modern de- approachable factors that would fit velopment programs based on big- nicely into a development report. push itineraries such as massive aid Where Sen’s weakness leaves off, and loan programs run by the World however, Easterly’s strength begins. Bank and IMF.

Planners Vs. Searchers Easterly insists that it is time to stop with big, sweeping goals to change Easterly has written an eloquent re- governments abroad. More produc- buttal to Sachs’ end of poverty ap- tive would be to aim to help individu- proach in his book The White Man’s als achieve some level of security so Burden (2006). He takes the position that they can help themselves, much that there are two kinds of develop- like Sen argues (Easterly 2006:368). ment specialists: those who take the Big plans like the ones developed by blueprint approach by proposing the West do not work, he explains, big plans to solve world poverty, because they are too broad and in- to whom he refers as “planners,” feasible. Specialists make their plans and those who believe development but do not have the manpower or should take place case by case from resources to know, for example, just within the community that is con- how many children have malaria cerned, referred to as “searchers.” in one town and how many doses 101 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 of medication they need (Easterly proposes as an alternative to the 2006:6). There are too many extra- blueprint syndrome from which the neous factors that outsiders could development community presently never predict which dooms these suffers. The home-grown, bottom-up programs to failure. Those who take perspective appears to hold more wa- the “searchers” approach, however, ter than its alternative, he explains, are more likely to be successful be- because “even when the West fails to cause they are, of necessity, insid- ‘develop’ the Rest, the Rest develops ers (Easterly 2006:15). They know itself” (Easterly 2006:363). He gives what is happening on the ground the examples of Hong Kong and Sin- and understand the issue inside-out. gapore, two countries that never re- “Homegrown development” (East- ceived aid or loans from the IMF and erly 2006:34), Easterly believes, is yet represent major success stories of a more realistic way of approaching development (Easterly 2006:349). In development. He proposes a decen- addition, much like in Sen’s proposal, tralized, market-place style approach Easterly supports a view that moves to development where there are away from the teleology of develop- no sweeping blueprints for ending ment schemes that seek to bring the poverty, but carefully chosen proj- “medieval” world into the “modern” ects aimed at addressing specific is- world. Development is viewed as a sues in particular locales (Easterly personalized, case-specific endeav- 2006:377). “The only Big Answer our to remedy specific issues on the is that there is no Big Answer,” he ground without the grand-schemes states (Easterly 2006:382). associated with major development programs. Moreover, policy inter- Easterly’s most brilliant suggestion, vention in this case is relegated to in my opinion, which also has policy the task of changing the nature of the relevance, is to take Dennis Whittle development industry itself, rather and Mari Kuraishi’s idea to make de- than policies directed toward devel- velopment act like a free market: opment programs per se. This means that Easterly’s approach challenges They suggest a marketplace instead of even Roe’s belief that development central planning, a kind of eBay meets foreign aid. They see three types of ac- narratives need to be geared toward tors: (1) social entrepreneurs close to the effective policy guidance, which in poor who propose projects to meet their my opinion, is the ultimate counter- needs; (2) individuals and institutions narrative. with technical and practical knowledge, and (3) donors who have funds they want to give away [they] envision […] CONCLUSION a decentralized market in which each category has many players who seek out The development narratives/theories/ players in the other categories and spon- taneously form matches (another possi- scenarios I have examined each seem ble metaphor: aid’s version of an online at first glance to offer alternatives to dating service) (Easterly 2006:376). the failed development schemes that have been floating around since the This is one of many examples he 1940s. They offer rebuttals and have 102 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 entered a debate in the community is hidden behind a singular argument about what is the actual problem that becomes blatant. When six devel- needs fixing in order to achieve de- opment specialists come out with velopment. Most agree that develop- six (apparently) different ways of ment consists of economic growth, explaining what needs to be done, the hope being that an increase in in- while adhering to the same evolu- come per capita is the “tide to lift all tionist principles of the 1950s, it be- boats” so that extreme poverty can be comes patently obvious that the solu- eradicated. Each narrative appears to tion needs to come from somewhere give the solution to the problem of new. poverty via some form of big-push (eureka) scheme. Yet taken together, REFERENCES CITED all of these conventional approaches reveal an almost dogmatic adherence Calderisi, Robert to assumptions dating back to 19th 2006 The Trouble with Africa: Why Foreign Aid Isn’t Working. New century evolutionism, which hinders York: Macmillan. the development community’s abil- Clark, Gregory ity to move beyond the narrow focus 2007 A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Eco- on the economy and attend to the nomic History of the World. Princ- eton: Princeton University Press. other crucial determinants affecting Collier, Paul human well-being, including social, 2007 The Bottom Billion: Why the Poor- political, and cultural aspects. est Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About it. New York: Oxford University Press. The real counternarratives that have Easterly, William emerged are the marginal views es- 2006 The White Man’s Burden: Why the poused by Sen and Easterly, who es- West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little tablish new ways of conceptualizing Good. New York: Penguin Press. poverty and development, and new ways of approaching their resolu- Ferguson, James 1992 “The Cultural Topography of tion. Emery Roe’s application of lit- Wealth: Commodity Paths and the erary theory to policy analysis makes Structure of Property in Rural Le- it possible to gauge each approach in sotho.” American Anthropologist 94(1):55-72. terms of their merit regarding policy applicability. The theorists more 1999 Expectations of Modernity: Myths geared toward economic growth fail and Meanings of Urban Life on the to offer any real alternatives, while Zambian Copperbelt. Berkeley: University of California Press. the renegades manage to stir at least a little bit of sediment in develop- Rist, Gilbert ment discourse, by challenging even 1997 The History of Development: from the presumption that development Western Origins to Global Faith. London: Zed Books. requires 1) policy, and 2) interven- Roe, Emery tion from the West. By themselves, 1994 Narrative Policy Analysis: Theory each approach offers a discrete and and Practice. Durham: Duke Uni- palpable solution, yet taken together, versity Press. the uncertainty and complexity that 103 PlatForum Vol. 11 | 2010 1999 Except-Africa: Remaking Devel- opment, Rethinking Power. New Brunswick: Transaction Publish- ers. Sen, Amartya 2000 Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor Books. Sachs, Jeffrey 2005 The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time. New York: Penguin.

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