Theme 3; Key Idea 3

Often influenced by Ghandi. Every human has the right to feed, clothe and house themselves. 

Less developed countries saw the solution to poverty not through industrialisation but by encouraging the economic life of villages. 

Dependency theory and post-development both came out of the developing world. 

'Development' in the LDW is seen as perpectuating western dominance through the spread of capitalism. 

Until the 1960s it was assumed that development affected both men and women in the same way. 

However, through the 1970-80s there was growing evidence that women were being left behind by the processes of development. 

Today gender relations are important for many working in development. Tackling gender inequality is seen to empower women and contribute to their sense of well-being. 

In the 1970s environmentally friendly women challenged the dominant model of development. They saw it as being shaped by masculine values and being guilty of excluding spiritual and holistic thinking. 

They saw economic development as a violent force against nature and also was associated with violence against women. 

"Modern science and development are projects of male western origins" - Shiva 

Eco-feminists, like Vandana Shiva, argue that local knowledge and women's voices should be centeral to development strategies

Views from the developed world are mainly influenced by neo-liberalism and capitalism. They are often accused of being eurocentric - the practice of viewing the world from European perspective and placing emphasis on European concerns, cultures and values at the expensive of other cultures. 

Joseph Stiglitz is an ex-cheif economist of the World Bank and causes of economic development. He argued that neo-liberalism has failed and that markets don't work very well, they are not perfect or encourage efficiency. 

He suggested that for economic devleopment to occur there must be a balance between markets, governments and other institutions. 

There is evidence to support this view: 

• In countries where neo-liberal policies have been applied, development has failed. 
• Countries where the state played a strong role development was succesful. 
• Governments cna enhance growth by increasing inclusiveness, e.g. education for all. 

The UK governmnet department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty is DfId. DfID claims that the sustainable development goals lie at the heart of their work. 

DfID aims: 

• To honour international commitments which will help achieve the SDGs
• Drive transparency, value for money and open government which will make UK aid more effective. 
• Boost wealth creation.
• Strengthen governance and secuirty in fragile and conflict-affected countries. 
• Lead international action to improve the lives of girls and women
• Combat climate change

DfID is trying to work on all aspects of development, economic, social and environmental. 

Bottom up approaches to development should:

• Empower invididuals and communities
• Involve the local community
• Use appropriate technology
• Work with local cultures

The decision-making role of the community creates a sense of ownership and identity, meaning that development projects are more likely to succeed. Bottom up development is often led by NGOs. 

Case Study - Barefoot College, India.

Problems with Bottom up development - 

• Desgined to meet basic needs, but not increase incomes dramatically.
• Can only act on a local scale - no proof that they make a large impact.
• Communities are constantly changing
• Contain power differences meaning that some members will face exclusion

Top down key points - 

• Usually large scale projects
• Often well-funded
• Carried out by governments or international organisations
• Local people aren't involved
• Imposed on the area and its people

Advantages of top down development - 

• Can bring large scale change 
• Can help drive economic growth

Disadvantages of top down development - 

• Fail to meet the needs and wants of communities
• Rarely tailored to local conditions
• Can be strongly influenced by misconceptions and stereotypes
• Involves city based experts

The Three Gorges Dam in China is the largest dam in the world. It was designed to meet the beneftis of China as a country. It took 14 years to build, created a 405 sq mile reservoir behind the dam and generated 22,500 MW of electricity. The official cost of the project was around $26 billion, however, some estimate it to be higher than $75 billion. 

Benefits - 

• Helps with flood control
• Jobs for people working at the dam
• Reduces the need to coal-fired power stations which means there is less polluted air
• Large ships can now travel on the Yangtze river which has improved trade

Drawbacks - 

• 13 million people had to relocate and received little compensation
• 1300 archaeological sites were flooded
• Farmers no longer received the annual floodwtaers that would irrigate their crops
• The dam is built on an earthquake zone
• The reservoir could become polluted