1. Development Theory: Third World Perspectives
“A culture cannot survive if it attempts to be exclusive.”
Mahatma Gandhi

2. Differing positions of 1st and 3rd world perspectives
First World
Enlightenment
Positive approach to development
1st world in dominant position
Global system of capitalism
Third World ?

3. Differing positions of 1st and 3rd world perspectives (cont.)
Enlightenment
Positive approach to development
1st world in dominant position
Global system of capitalism
Counter-Enlightenment
Negative encounters with 1st world, e.g. colonialism
Underdog – subject to control by 1st world
Alternative economic systems, e.g., self-provisioning

4. Temporal and geographical context of 3rd world development theory
Late 19th century Europe
Colonization of Asia, Latin America and Africa
Socialism/Marxism in Russia

5. Phases of 3rd World Development Theory and Practice
Dependency Theory
Postmodernism and alternative paths to development

6. Phases of 3rd World Development Theory and Practice
Postmodernism & alternative paths to development
Local cultures destroyed via ‘development’
Inappropriate strategies
Modernization invalid
Dependency theory
Contrast with modernization theorists
Development has deteriorated 3rd world situation

7. 1. Dependency Theory
Radical/Marxist approaches to development of underdevelopment
Third world economy linked to first world
Lenin on imperialism

8. Role of the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA)
Raul Prebisch, Director (1948 est.)
International trade exacerbates underdevelopment
Historical phases of colonization and trade
(transparency)
Propose import substitution

9. Andre Gunder Frank, Capitalism and Underdevelopment in Latin America
The thesis by Frank was simple:
“the condition of developing countries is not the outcome of inertia, misfortune, chance, climatic conditions or whatever, but rather a reflection of the manner of their incorporation into the global capitalist system”
(Potter et al. Geographies of Development)

10. 2. World Systems Theory Immanuel Wallerstein
Global economic system linked to capitalism
Core, periphery and semi-periphery
See map
Account for growth of NICs

11. What does it mean to be developed
What does it mean to be developed? Postmodernism and alternative approaches to development
Different ways of interpreting development
Australian case
Politics of representation
local knowledge vs. Western scientific knowledge
Multiple paths to development
Grassroots struggles
The environment (The Chipko movement)
Political autonomy (Chiapas, Mexico)

12. Conclusion: A Way Forward?
Development by whom? For whom?
Dominant ideologies of development
Exploring the relationship among development, impoverishment, and environmental crisis