Global development: presentation of a poorly under-stood and poorly experienced process

Par malumiereetmonsalut Le 07/11/2022 à 11:07 0

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La conception du développement est une approche définitionnelle qui varie en fonction des contextes The conception of development is a definitional approach which varies depending on the contexts while paying particular attention to environmental issues

Globalization or even modernization as a constant progression of innovations in all areas and the connection of all societies in a world where the other is an absolute necessity is a geographical concept which dates from the 19th century and to whom we owe the notion of living together. Indeed, even if the origins of this concept as we understand it today are even more distant and date in particular from the "1st century BC¹" that is to say restrictively, 100 years before Jesus-Christ, and a year before the birth of Jesus-Christ, we continue by saying that in a global village where technological development has considerably shortened distances, not to say that it has made them insignificant or almost non-existent, we are closer to the other without really being there thanks to a genius which constantly reinvents itself while making human daily life more pleasant through rapid means of processing information and executing projects in all areas by Men and for the happiness of Men.
When we generally talk about development and even power, we think directly of economic, technological and even military growth. But over time, cultural and especially environmental issues have been added to these other quantifiable indicators of development through gross domestic product to show that the quality of the environment in which humans live matters more than economic growth. Hence the importance of doing everything possible to change the living conditions of populations while taking care to minimize as much as possible and over time the impact of our actions on a common home. Reason why today, we prefer gross national happiness² (GNH) even more to gross domestic product because nothing beats the health of animal and plant living beings and that of the human species who all live in an environment where resources must be used in a reasoned manner for the greater good not only of a particular geographical space, but of the entire world.
We are therefore in a development process which will require ever more efforts on our part like reduction in the use of fossil fuels, colossal development in the exploitation of renewable energies, reduction in the carbon footprint of each individual, communities and industries, reasonable felling of trees and above all reforestation and innovative financing of poor countries in order to take care of forests, manage natural resources well, and appreciable management of household waste and plastic waste thanks to a circular economy which is: “ a system in which materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.³ »
The concept of degrowth⁴ in environmental economics to say more produce, consume less and pollute less, has come to contradict the thesis of achieving well-being solely through economic growth which is the opposite of recession which not only has nothing to do with the concept of degrowth and which also has considerable negative impacts in the daily life of Men to the point where the poorest countries suffer more from the effects of climate change than those which are richer.
The challenges as well as the responsibilities are multiple and everyone is concerned by this global problem which is not limited only to one space but which encompasses a set of spaces called to work together despite the fact that some feel the consequences of global warming more than others and that others have more financials resources than others. Indeed, when a natural disaster occurs in a specific geographic area, the entire world is threatened. The same goes for droughts, deforestation, conflicts and war which promote famine and the destruction of infrastructure and other problems which undermine the daily life of humans in the world and which also require special attention both on a national scale than international because true development aims at the well-being of Men and not only the production of wealth or the growth of production which has made and which still makes Men, particularly those in poor countries think that it is only there we find happiness or the path to happiness whereas this is not the case because when we cannot live in a pleasant environment because of pollution, nauseating odours, insufficient access to care primary and quality health care for sections of the population more exposed to water-borne diseases and, among other things, the artificialization of soils or « the change in land use which is usually irreversible because of consequences which can be detrimental to the environment and the agricultural production⁵ », we do not live in happiness.

Development as a joy of living that varies depending on the context

Even if some have reduced their happiness to the sole possibility for them to provide themselves with daily bread or to exchange their vote during the electoral ballots for a sum of money for some which is derisory and which will certainly not contribute to solving the problem background which is that of social unhappiness, that is not development.

Development is poorly understood because it is poorly experienced. Indeed, because of the quantifiable indicators thanks to which we can on the one hand classify the countries from the richest to the poorest, and on the other hand, the overwhelming degree of the negative impact of the abusive use of fossil fuels on the environment of the planet, we cannot limit the definition of development to the level of growth without taking into account the impacts of the abusive use of fossil fuels on the planet. Although the income from growth makes it possible to finance other sectors and thus contributes to improving the lives of populations, it is a concept of development which is certainly a dream, but whose the consequences are more disastrous for poorest countries which concentrate within them the populations most vulnerable to the effects of climatic variations which are evaluated in a short time interval, that is to say every year for example, and those of climate changes which 'evaluate over a longer time interval, even ten years or more. In others word for this special point : “climate varies over seasons and years instead of day-to-day like weather [...] Climate isn’t defined by any particular timeframe, however scientist typically use average weather conditions over 30-years time interval to track climate. These 30-years average are called climatological normal (“which is a beacon indicating the average climate expected in a given region”⁷) […] For example, the normal daily maximum temperature for February 15 in South Heaven, Michigan is 34.2°F from 1961-1991. But for each year in that range, the daily maximum temperature is not exactly 34.2°F. This year-to-year fluctuation around the normal is climate variability. […] Climate change is a long term continuous change (increase or decrease) to average weather conditions. Long term means at least many decades. Climate change is slow and gradual, and unlike year-to-year variability, is very difficult to perceive without scientific records.”⁶

Faced with constant innovations, no country wants to be left behind. Everyone wants to develop and everyone invests in Tech or in the study of applied sciences and techniques and information and communication, by acquiring obviously according to their means, tools likely to allow them to produce and offer a better service.

These constant developments in all areas which maintain the American dream or that of an elsewhere other than that of developing countries for example, contribute and continue to distort the African conception of true development. Today and among other examples, when we see houses whose layouts respect real urbanization plans, technological cities, very well designed spaces, skyscrapers, flourishing industries which have employees who amount to some to tens of millions among others, we think that this is development when in fact it is only a Western conception of development that we have adopted, but also, it is only one of the aspects tangible of a very large whole whose understanding varies depending on the context. You cannot give such a definition to an individual who can no longer eat properly at home because of the floods and droughts which are the consequence of climate change. If no one would want to have landlocked roads, houses or dilapidated infrastructures, the state of these infrastructures should not make us forget what we are or what we need most at the level of our African cultures which must be valued, maintained and updated so as not to sink into a poorly understood and poorly experienced underdevelopment which boils down to being content with the mediocrity or precariousness of a detestable daily life or even so as not to be the shadow of Western cultures which are certainly wonderful but which must rather be sources of inspiration to improve what we already have or make it more attractive and not allow ourselves to be acculturated to the point of no longer even wanting to be African or a national of an African country especially.

“President Truman’s inauguration speech in 1949 marks the beginning of what we call development.” Indeed, this speech contains all the elements that have pushed international organizations to think about development as it is today, that is to say, “establishing a market economy,” (“in a market economy, the means of production are essentially owned by private actors who aim to maximize profits. Such an economy is opposed to a planned economy in which all decisions are made by the State”⁹), save people living in non-democratic countries (poor countries), push for economic growth and technological progress: in short, make the world a copy of what the United States was at that time when progress was the only obsession present in all heads.”⁸

It was not until six years later between April 18 and 24 of 1955 that we witnessed the first criticism of this conception of development. Indeed, during the Bandung¹⁰ conference (Indonesia - South-East Asia), which marks the entry onto the international scene of third world countries and brought together representatives of the newly independent countries of Africa and Asia who also shared the project of those who aspired to this same ideal of sovereignty, were demanded decolonization and the emancipation of the peoples of Africa and Asia, peaceful coexistence and economic development, and non-interference in the internal affairs of States since they themselves in a context of the Cold War or tense relations between the United States and the former Soviet Union, they chose the path of neutrality.

Fifteen years later at the beginning of the 1970s and faced with the sad reality of not being able to put an end to poverty in the world through economic development, other theories developed in South America called development theories from below which offers alternative solutions in which the beneficiaries will also be the actors of their own economic development. In other words, it is a question of “encouraging poverty to eradicate itself.”⁸

Today, pygmies in the forests of Central Africa are obliged to no longer hunt as before. Some have had to break with their former way of life because it is necessary to preserve animal and plant biodiversity for which they are not the main responsible of destruction, whereas living exclusively from hunting and gathering was development. Obviously some will say that we must aspire to better and seek emancipation. But to be like who? Leaving a satisfactory lifestyle to live day to day without certainty of having something to eat the next day is no longer development but precariousness. Today like everyone else, they are forced to adapt and even develop in another way by adopting a new way of life which certainly does not completely correspond with their traditional ways of life but which turns out to be essential currently. Indeed, “indigenous peoples suffer the effects of seasonal variations resulting from climate change. This is the case of excessively high temperatures, the drying up of streams and wetlands and the reduction in the flow of rivers.”¹¹

They are suffering the effects of a global problem that cannot be resolved without their contribution which is also important because, whether we are the main victims or not, everyone's contribution counts. “As repositories of climate knowledge, they must be part of the solution instead of being excluded from the field of climate action. »¹²

A global problem requires global measures at the level of each country. Even if responsibilities are shared in terms of providing others with what they need to respond to their development problem, which beyond the development problems of a State also vary according to each individual, rich countries will always have more responsibilities than poor countries. The years of industrialization have largely contributed to polluting the planet to the point where today we are talking about energy transition not for the good of a particular space but of the entire planet. Even if African countries are currently investing in the exploitation of renewable energies, their investments represent nothing compared to that of developed and emerging countries.

The strict environmental measures are much firmer on the one hand at the level of the largest polluters and the largest producers of renewable energy and those who understood very early that it is necessary to invest in green energies to the point of be today at a level of happiness that many developed countries cannot achieve. Emergence and development go hand in hand with the well-being of populations. We cannot speak of real development when millions of people die each year from atmospheric pollution. On this particular point, Iceland, Costa Rica, Norway and Scotland are very good students. But the same cannot be said of African countries which still need cars considered obsolete in the OECD area. In fact, what we no longer want, we send to Africa to help Africans. Since they (the vehicles) are dangerous for our environment, that is to say, that of the member countries of the organization for economic cooperation and development, it is better to send them to Africa because they pollute less and because there are forests to capture carbon dioxide.

Also read : Plastics packaging: between necessity of use and excessive use of non-biodegradable products in Cameroon

But even these vehicles that invade Africa's towns and villages also compromise the health of many Africans. An unprecedented report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNDP) already warned in 2020 that “millions of vehicles shipped from Europe, the United States of America and Japan to Africa and Asia are polluting and dangerous. »¹³ Some of them reportedly contain defective or missing components that emit toxic fumes, thereby increasing air pollution and thus hindering efforts to combat climate change. Importing countries should therefore implement updated regulations as proposed by experts because what is considered defective, outdated or bad in Europe and elsewhere is also considered defective in Africa, which is not another planet but another continent on the same planet Earth which is a common home whose ozone layer which is “one layer of the stratosphere which absorbs bits of radiation hitting Earth from the sun”¹⁴ and which must be taken care of because the health of all the populations of the world is at stake. “Sustainable development offers an alternative to the industrialization of developing countries. Indeed, if the whole world rotated as much as the so-called “developed” countries, the ecological problem would be even more important today. This is why it is important to note that all development proposals that are conscious and respectful of the environment can be understood as an alternative to traditional development. »⁸

A bad conception of development which promotes deviance

The desire for success at all costs leads many people to employ means described as “easy” because the efforts undertaken to achieve this not only lack decency, but also provide semblances of wealth or rather ephemeral wealth. Some are even convinced that to succeed, you have to compromise yourself.

Work as we know it in the sense of daily effort which results in an honestly earned salary, has taken a worrying turn harboured by a love for means that we are not going to describe as "easy", but rather fallacious or fraudulent because they mock the common sense or sincerity advocated by true moral values to espouse counter values which keep the country and the individuals who adopt these paths in intellectual and systemic poverty which further compromise the possibilities of achievement of true development. Indeed, what can be built on the basis of lies and cheating apart from counter values which give another orientation to the true meaning of development by limiting it to a scale where we do not worry about the other.

It's all a question of education, instruction and perseverance in a way of acting that does not compromise the existence of others. Indeed, just as a good harvest will meet future needs, a good education will provide people capable of meeting future challenges. If education is the basis of all development, it means that we cannot have a good product in an unhealthy environment and without adequate infrastructure. Investing in education means preparing for the future. If there were no more schools, universities or training institutes, there would no longer be a sector of activity since the job market would no longer be supplied with human resources. Those who destroy schools, hospitals and even homes constitute an obstacle to the development not only of a Territory, but of several other territories because for there to be development, there must be constant cohesion and complementarity between each territory.

Some people and in certain particular contexts develop superstitious attitudes when they observe the success of others because of prejudices and stereotypes which make them think that to have that much money, one must necessarily be a liar or a thief. While being aware of the fact of the existence of occult means to obtain "certain wealth" and once again without qualifying as easy the paths that some choose to develop personally because development on the scale of the individual is necessary to be able to honestly contribute to true development, we believe that everyone is best placed to know what they gain and what they lose by adopting one path or another. Consequently and because development also implies the freedom of each person to make their own choices, these choices can sometimes turn out to be counterproductive and dangerous due to the incessant misery or ill-being into which they plunge certain people.

Also read : Slippages in young milieu : consequence of education under yhe influence of lax educations and disavantages of globalization

Development is not just a question of wealth. Wealth is a component of development that includes the intellect, the economic, the spiritual, the cultural, the relational, and the environment. When one is missing or when there is no balance between these multiple parameters, we cannot really talk about development on the scale of the individual as well as that of the Territory. There is no development without theoretical and practical knowledge, without the development of economic potential that respects environmental standards and ethical rules. “Science without conscience is only ruin of the soul. »¹⁵ There is no real development when we do not take care to promote our culture and update it without, however, making it lose its substance by adopting counter values which compromise a heritage which has lasted for several generations.

Development is an objective that requires the participation of all layers of society. It is always Men who aspires to development, initiates it and brings it to fruition. It is precisely because his importance (Men) is essential that we must capitalize more on the education of consciences. Anything that could hinder or undermine a development process must be put aside so that the one who is at the centre of true development that is well-being does not or no longer perpetuates unhealthy attitudes or practices. “The millennium goals (adopted in 2000 at the United Nations assembly in New York-United States) are part of what we can call alternative development. Indeed, in view of the problems encountered in economic development, these objectives have the advantage of refocusing the efforts which must be produced on more down-to-earth notions than industrialization and the rise of the market economy such as reducing poverty and infant mortality, improving education and gender equality, caring for the environment and dealing with pandemics. These objectives are certainly somewhat utopian (idealistic or dreamy), but they have the merit of placing human problems at the centre of the development issue.”⁸

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References

[1] A brief history of globalization

[2]Gross National Happiness (GNH): definition of index and 4 pillars

[3] What is a circular economy?

[4] Décroissance

[5] Artificialization of soils

[6] Normales climatiques, méthode de calcul

[7] Climate variability and climate change, what is the difference?

[8] Le développement alternatif

[9] Economie de marché

[10] La conférence de Bandung