Development is personal evolution on a larger scale

In trying to work out a personal definition of development, I keep thinking of the feminist motto, “The personal is political.” Likewise, development should be personal.

The starting point of any aid program should be an assessment of the needs of individuals. Not a brief survey of their income, educational level or access to infrastructure, nor the offer of a “proven model” for success. But a hard look at the everyday experience and mindset of people.

Besides economic and structural disadvantages, people can lack the awareness and trust of formal programs run by outsiders. Or, they may lack hope or the vision of a better life. Alternately, they may have a complete vision of a better life and simply lack the tools or means to act on it.

Regardless, I believe that development is the evolution of individuals’ personal empowerment—their growing sense of security, opportunity, and satisfaction. Whether similar needs are connected and translated into a program, or individual members of a community turn their personal achievements into a benefit for all, our job is: first, to understand needs, and then address them.

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Comments

[Kate Horner]

I agree that processes of development should be primarily concerned with individuals and, I think, the way that interactions among individuals work to advance or hinder personal freedoms and security. Root causes of many social and economic issues are tied up in power and structural injustices, as Sen, Green, and Farmer argue, and power is ultimately about relationships among individuals or groups of individuals. Adjusting harmful power imbalances thus requires an understanding of these relationships, as well as the social and cultural factors that influence behavior and decision-making. It’s particularly worth noting that because of these interpersonal dynamics, focusing at the individual level can lead to significant changes at the higher levels – household, community, and beyond.

[asher.p]

On individuals and how they can work to advance freedom, I would like to build on your reading of Sen, to highlight another aspect of development along the lines of the idea of personal evolution scaled up. That is, the behavior of individuals on the opposite side from the less developed nations.

In the developed world, we are responsible for the other half of the work to end poverty and forge a sustainable global economy. If we can examine the structural underpinnings of our wealth, and bring the terms of our economic and social relationships more into balance, we will begin to address the extent to which our decisions are intimately linked to individuals’ experiences elsewhere.

We continue to rely on developing nations for export of numerous materials that we consume and turn into trash. Global ‘structural violence’ is now perpetuated on a renewable basis in order to maintain these terms of trade. Global elites, who have systematically dismantled many of the channels once open to citizens of the developing world, must take heed of their own need for personal evolution. Greed as the global dominant culture will not hold, and with the end of cheap carbon-based energy, the individual evolution of ‘global citizens’ would be a hopeful development.

[Christina Bronsing]

This is an important insight. Just as the personal is always political, Lauren's definition highlights that development is always political.. and specific. We all know that development must be context appropriate; Lauren's post reminds us that the make-or-break factors that determine whether or not a program or intervention is effective may be more personal - and smaller - than we realize. Perceptions can hold more weight than we realize when determining what will gain traction on the ground and what may need additional problem-solving steps first.