(DOC) TOWARDS INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE THIRD WORLD COMMUNITIES

1 TOWARDS INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN THE THIRD WORLD COMMUNITIES By Ezebuiro A. U (

) 07039248500 Imo State Polytechnic, Umuagwo (A paper presented at the 2015 Academic Conference organized by Harvard Research and Publication International on the theme: Transformation & Development Agenda in the 3rd World Communities Evolving as Global Developed nations, Vol. 4 No. 1 held at the International Conference Hall, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria-west-Africa on the 30th October, 2015) Abstract This paper criticizes the prevalent notion of development albeit wrong; visible in the third world countries that development is a process of dominating and shaping the destinies of people according to an essentially Western way of conceiving and perceiving the world. This Western conception of development is rooted in the imperialist logic that appropriates the human person and turns him into objects; thus making development a process where the lives of some peoples, their plan, their hopes, their imaginations, are shaped by others who frequently share neither their lifestyles, nor their hopes nor their values. In this paper, we argue for a human-centered and inclusive development built on inclusive economic and political institutions. Inclusive economic and political development generates inclusive economic and political incentives. Thus our logic, derived from the natural law platform of the Ancients: Aristotelian-Thomistic tradition reflects the metaphysics of development as a natural process, and seeks to find the truth about development independent of ideological and utilitarian motives. Key Words: Development, Under-development, Third World, Inclusive/Extractive Development 2 Introduction What is Development? The word ‘development’ originally came from the French verb ‘veloper’ which means to unwrap. In this sense, ‘to develop’ means “to cause to grow gradually, fuller, larger, stronger and better” (Udoidem, 1992). Development is a progression towards maturity and better exemplification of the nature of the type in question (Njoku, 2004). As a concept, development embodies progress and growth as a goal. It occurs both at individual level as well as the socio- economic level. At the level of the individual, Walter Rodner (1982) says it implies an “increase in skill and capacity for greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, and responsibility and material well-being. Its signs at this level include the unfolding of potentials that help the individual to flourish fully. At the level of socio-economics, it implies the pooling together of resources in order to organize environmental and social relations for the enhancement of the members of the society (Ibid). Here society is said to develop economically if its members increase jointly their capacity for dealing with the environment. Where this enhancement of the human person is lacking extensively, such a development will not be an authentic human or economic development. In all therefore, human development in its integrative aspect includes physical, intellectual, personal and social development. Underdevelopment is employed today in the modern parlance to express a particular relationship of exploitation, namely, of one country by another. But our study so far reveals that underdevelopment understood as the absence of development is erroneous. Rather it is a comparative outlook towards the level of development in human, social and economic configuration (Njoku, 2004). In this regards, therefore, we argue that all of the countries named as underdeveloped with which the world is now pre-occupied are products of capitalist imperialist and colonialist exploitation. The Metaphysics of the Western Logic on Development The Western logic on development studies came in stages in history with different modes of exemplifications; Darby (1987). There was the mechanistic/manipulative outlook that studied development in mechanistic terms; there was the imperialist/colonial bent that saw colonialisation as a form of development which interest was to meet the needs of the colonizer. There was also the outlook that saw modernization as synonymous with development. The 3 dependency outlook which departs from the conviction that the interest of the bourgeoisie is at the center of capitalist society is another in the list. We shall now examine them one by one in line with the naturalist conviction in order to see how the latter meets up with the condition that guarantees it the offer for true human and socio-economic flourishing. The Mechanistic/Manipulative Outlook of Development This understanding of development is rooted in the 17th century worldview that believes that the laws of human progress are identical with the laws of physics. The forerunners of this view include Francis Bacon, Thomas Hobbes and Rene’ Descartes. All these derive practice from the theories of physics. On this basis, Descartes says that he wants knowledge such that knowing the laws of physics; we can become lord of nature. According to Njoku, (2004), the idea of progress of human society here is that the laws of the physical science apply in the same way in the human sphere such that from the domination of nature, humans can be dominated at all levels. In the mechanistic thinking, human development therefore, lies in the worldview of the experimental sciences with the conviction that using the apparatus of the physical science to dominate nature to our use, humans can also be subjected to the laws of progress and utility. The Imperialist/Colonial Bent At the beginning of the imperial era, Europe had a superior power and knowledge of humans and nature. Colonialisation was conceived as a form of development, which interest was to meet the needs of the colonizer. Tucker (1982) sustains that at this point, the idea of progress with its attendant notions of perfectibility and individuality gained pre-eminence in the period of the French and English revolutions. Armed with the confidence of having history if not nature on their side, the new economic and political revolutionaries of Britain and French set about changing the world and the way in which it was perceived. With time, their worldview came to be intuitively self-evident and was believed to be universally valid. It provided a conceptual and moral basis for colonialism and imperialism. Beals et.al, (1977) avows that imperialism implants itself through a medium of culture-contact or acculturation. In the process of acculturation, it is seen to be a reality that the values of the culture with stronger force dominate, even if the contact is simply a case of mutual cross-cultural pollination. In the end, colonialism was seen as development by imposition, achieved by the exercise of an alien political power over a 4 conquered territory through all kinds of arbitrary measures designed for economic exploitation and social degradation of the colonized people Njoku, (2004). The Modernization Outlook The Modernization outlook wrongly conceives modernization as synonymous with development. This is not right, albeit, it can be a form of development. Beals et.al, (1977) argue that modernization ‘strictly speaking, might properly be used to refer to any current changes in the society. The West used it synonymously with westernization or Americanization. But we know that a more acceptable use of the term is in reference to current worldwide patterns in which local cultures and communities undergo rapid cultural change in response to a variety of overwhelming pressures generated by national cultures. However, being a form of development, modernization occurs through massive importation of capital goods from the West. According to Rapley, (1996), the modernization outlook sought to identify the conditions that had given rise to development in the First World, and specify where and why these were lacking in the Third World. The forerunners of this outlook reached varying conclusions depending on their focus. Some perceived the problem of the Third World as a mere shortage of capital; development required a rise in the savings rate. To others, it was a question of value system; Third World peoples lacked the cultural values, such as the profit motives, that would make them entrepreneurial. On this perspective, development required Westernizing the elites, or some kind of education in capitalist values, Njoku (2004). Whether from a sociological, political, or economic standpoint, modernizations theorists generally concurred on one important point, which is the fact that underdevelopment was an initial state. The West could help speed up the process of development in the Third World, for instance by sharing its capital and know-how, to bring these countries into the modern age of capitalism and liberal democracy. The modernization theory was rationalized within the ‘trickle down’ ideology and it came to be translated into massive importation of the goods and technology of the First World by Third World countries. The goods of the First World flooded Third World markets. Both continued to buy from the same market. Capital imports from the West were paid by proceeds from agricultural products of the Third World countries. However, the more goods the Third world countries bought and paid for by their agricultural products, the more they emptied 5 themselves and dropped lower into starvation. The more they exported, the more they drained themselves, and the more debts they incurred in the bid to keep up with Western interests which was essential at the moment. The Dependency Bent The dependency outlook departs from the conviction that the interest of the bourgeoisie is at the center of capitalist society (Njoku, 2004). It was clear that since the capitalist class is the dominant class, it was inevitable that foreign policies of First World countries would primarily be concerned with the promotion and protection of capitalist interests which was maintained at the time through the co-operation of their local elites (Rapley, 1996). The outlook insists that the First World countries create conditions that generate incomes aimed at supporting their home economies; and that the states of the Third World should intervene to stop the exploitation of their resources, through welfare, legislation, nationalization of private industries and immense public programs (Njoku, 2004). Development Understood from the Naturalist Position The position of the naturalists is structured under the claims of natural law argument. The argument is that development is a natural process. This is contrary to the Western logic that sustains the belief that development is a modern project rooted in the philosophies of Galileo Galilei, Francis Bacon, Rene Descartes, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. On the contrary, development in the natural law tradition states that development is a natural process towards a fuller and better growth of entities with its appropriate perfection. The view insists that to have developed or to develop is to reach a rational balance or equilibrium at the point which the best in human, social and political spheres operates as an integral whole; where people have the right natural dispositions and their operations in place (Njoku, 2004). The Ancients had conceived development or progress in this light of Aristotelian- Thomistic tradition, founded in the natural law tradition. Both Plato and Aristotle, identify the end of the state with the ethical end of the individual, for the state is that which assures its citizens the best life. Thus with habits or sets of dispositions, the individuals reach the end that is good via natural progression towards fuller maturity. 6 One thus understand why Aristotle in Generation of Animals, 778b11-19, insists that nature follows a course; animate and inanimate entities follow an order in their nature that corresponds to their purpose, which is determined by their nature. The good is part of a structured whole that is rooted in the nature of things to which the process of development is a part. It is noteworthy then that Aristotle’s natural law theory is rooted in the conviction that nature stands as a capacity for development inherent in particular things and aimed at a particular end or purpose both in respect to physical and moral phenomena (Njoku, 2004). At this point, one understands why Aristotle insists that nature does nothing in vain; every art, being, substance tends towards something: aim/end/goal. This goal is rooted in the nature of the thing or being as an end product of a process. In the case of humans, that order is rooted in human’s rationality. Humans are distinguished from other natural entities by their rationality; thus for humans to act according to their nature is to act rationally. Humans are entities that desire happiness (eudaimonia). Eudaimonia is thus identified by Aristotle as happiness, the state of goodness. The position that things tend to a purpose inherent in their nature posits a universal law that governs all things and development, which means: humans and entities have a true way of development that is inherent in their nature. It is the development that is proper to a thing or nature that can be described as good (Njoku, 2004). Human nature in Aquinas’ understanding, is conceived as a set of dispositional properties or inclinations; dispositions that can influence a person’s powers towards actualization (Thomas Aquinas, 1-11, q.26a.1c.). John Finnis (1998) agrees Aquinas that one understands human nature by understanding human capacities, those capacities by understanding human acts, and those acts by understanding their object. Like Finnis, Martin Golding (1974) assess that the living dispositions are the basic requirements of human life in the sensitive level; at the animal level, the living dispositions are the basic requirements for the ‘furtherance of the human species”; at the rational level, they are the basic requirements for the “promotion of all human person’s good as a rational and social being. As we have noted, the concept of an end is built into the very concept of disposition, hence Aquinas says that the good is an end. Against this backdrop, Lisaka (1996) writes that “if this end is what perfects the essence and if the perfection is what one means by ‘well-being’ or eudaimonia, then what does not lead to well-being hinders the development of the natural 7 dispositions. The value is not derived from the fact. The value is built into the fact as actualization is built into potency. Inclusive Development Inclusive development is that kind of development that is both human-centered and structure-centered. It is that form of development that puts the human person at the center of its engine of prosperity. It is on record that countries differ in the economic success of their different institutions, the rules influencing how the economy works, and the incentives that motivate people. According to Acemogolu & Robinson (2013), investment in the context of inclusive incentives in education achieves high rate of literacy and schooling. On the other hand, lack of inclusive institutions for better inclusive incentives results in the lack of entrepreneurial initiatives, creativity, and adequate education capable to prepare such a country for skilled work. In a country where inclusive economic and political incentives are not supported, much of the so- called educations the citizens receive are mere propaganda, meant to shore up the legitimacy of the regime. Hence in Nigeria, for instance, most of our government owned schools lacks the basic amenities such as classrooms, tables, desks, computers and books etc. Those who are willingly to go into business themselves lack the basic incentives to encourage them to exert effort and excel in their chosen vocation. Yet on daily basis, we hear overly talks and talks on entrepreneurial education. It is no doubt that inclusive economic institutions foster economic creativity, productivity growth, and economic propensity of a given country. In a country where private property rights are made central, only those with such rights will be willing to invest and increase productivity. A businessman who expects his output to be stolen, expropriated, or entirely taxed away will have little incentive to work, let alone any incentive to undertake investments and innovations. Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be up to date in her numerous talks on entrepreneurial education by making sure that there exists a level field ground for the would-be entrepreneurs to emerge and showcase what their endowments are. Nevertheless, the capacity to secure property rights, the law, public services, and the freedom to contract and exchange rely all on the state, in addition to her coercive capacity to impose order, prevent theft and fraud, and enforce contracts between private parties. In this direction, incentives for entrepreneurial initiatives will include the provision of all other 8 necessary public services such as good roads and a transport network so that goods can be transported; a public infrastructure so that economic activity can flourish; and some type of basic regulation to prevent fraud and malfeasance (Ibid. 76). Having said this, it becomes obvious that the state is inexorably intertwined with economic institutions, as the enforcer of law and order, private property and contracts, and often as a key provider of public services. No country whose economic institutions do not provide the said level field ground in her policies and creation of incentives would be called inclusive. It is instead better referred to as extractive to the extent that her policies are designed to extract incomes and wealth from one subset of society to benefit a different subset. Recommendations Having said that inclusive development is that kind of development that is both human-centered and structure-centered; a form of development that puts the human person at the center of its engine of prosperity, we therefore recommend the following for the development of the so-called third world countries: 1. Incentives for entrepreneurial initiatives which include the provision of all other necessary public services such as good roads and a transport network so that goods can be transported; a public infrastructure so that economic activity can flourish; and some type of basic regulation to prevent fraud and malfeasance. 2. Creation of level field ground for the would-be entrepreneurs to emerge and showcase what their endowments are. 3. Legislations that will protect property rights, and ensure harmonious living among people. 4. Government policies should be human-oriented. That means that it should have human faces, must be driven by passion of human flourishing 5. Political incentives are necessary for development hence governments should enforce political institutions to develop policies and strategies for realizing a holistic and over-all development. 9 Conclusion The essence of the battle waged on the western logic of development by the naturalist projectors is to establish profitable ground upon which value and meaning could be derived from good concepts for the furtherance of both human and socio-political spheres. The war is concentrated on the fact that the western logic cannot offer adequate claim for the happiness of the entire human person; whether in his social, political or cultural life. Experience reveals that right from time immemorial, man has always desired happiness and good and sustainable environment for his socio-political life. The need for government has arisen essentially from the necessity of organizing societies in an orderly manner. The types of government have varied in forms and functions but the essential purpose has remained. There have been kingships, dictatorships, oligarchies, democracies and other kinds of governments. Most forms have claimed they are out to serve common good. One thing, however, stands out: Governments have become highly developed organizations with increasing functions and responsibilities which, almost invasively, affect communal and individual life in myriad ways. Development studies have, albeit wrongly, been misrepresented. Thus, human happiness and joy have been sacrificed at the table of industrialization, modernization, and westernization; all at the detriment of the human purpose of existence. In Nigeria where public office holders and administrators have failed woefully is a case study. While administrative capacity has posed grave challenge, the civil service is no longer out for the development of the human person. Bureaucratic principles have taken over all other principles of humanitarianism, democracy, justice, and good human relationship. Public office holders and administrators have stressed unguided erections of structures that directly or indirectly vitiate the human happiness. More railways are constructed; more refineries are built; but not used for the good of the common man. Strong edifices are constructed to showcase the pride of one’s performance in administration while staff salaries are unpaid. Promotions are not conducted and effected as numerous taxes are unwittingly deducted from source. Staff welfares are not taken into serious consideration. Man’s labor has been appropriated for the market rather than for immediate consumption. Workpeople are separated from their means of subsistence and their labor is prolonged and the product placed on the market to render a profit. The situation now is as Hobbes says that “value and worth of a man is as of all other things, his price—that is to say, so much as would be given for the use of his power.” Or Locke’s claim that gold and 10 silver has value only through a tacit and voluntary consent among men who honored and offered them in exchange.” It is no longer doubtful that the idea of development that hovers around is that founded and rooted under the western logic. One understands why efforts to change the status quo are thwarted since the elite feasts on the shoulders of the poor. Yet Nigeria answers the giant of Africa but it cannot feed her citizens. Nigeria claims to be the 6th greatest exporters of petroleum, yet it cannot provide enough fuel for her citizens. The local oligarchy benefits from this pathetic system; and sabotages all effort on genuine development of an economy that will fight its privileged interests. The present structures in the name of industrialization are under the directives of the West who either own them totally or staged-managed them even when are established in the Third World territories. The Third World remains in the position of “classical dependence.” And their industries are established with direct dependence on the First World--- through their expatriates in Third World countries. At this point, development, one believes, must therefore, seek a holistic face and take strong root from within. Cultural and environmental factors will have to be taken seriously. The welfare of the common man must, as a matter of urgency, be taken into serious consideration. The words of Hubert Humphrey must be echoed and re-echoed as often as possible: the moral test of a government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadows of life-the sick, the needy and the handicapped. 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