The nation-states of the world plan their futures around hopes of annual GDP growth and increase in exports. However, contradictions flourish. Although some countries have benefited from privileged circumstances and cultural features that enabled them to appropriate capitalist modes of activity, by contrast, the poorest African nations are almost irrelevant to world trade. The label 'underdevelopment' signifies that these 'backward' societies are being evaluated by the standards of the dominant culture. As deculturation proceeds, such societies increasingly voice their predicaments and aspirations in terms of the 'developmentalist' categories, which entails cultural asphyxiation, and loss of the vitality and coherence of indigenous cultural forms.
Many thinkers question the ideal of development itself and want to break away from it.
Despite the sincerity of 'alternative development' advocates, respect for difference is largely paid post mortem , with alternative development merely a different way of becoming the same. Development upholds the commitment to liberty and affluence for all, unlimited knowledge and technological progress, and infinite possibilities that would free the individual from 'underdevelopment'. However, these possibilities are accessible only to a minority, while the price in terms of destruction of real solidarities and economic security is paid by all. Traditional customs and social structures are often interpreted as obstacles to development. Actually, they are also latent bases for invention by the people involved.