Cultural Anthropological Perspective of Development Re-Examined PERSPECTIVE ANTHROPOLOGIQUE CULTURELLE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT RÉEXAMINÉE (2009)

‘Development” –a term that entered popular discourse in the late 1980s has certainly been become one of the most debatable buzzwords of the new millennium. The nature and philosophy of development has been the subject matter of profound debates and concerns in economic, political, cultural studies and academic circles since the mid 1980s. However, mainstream economic thought regarding development promises that it would lift the poor above poverty, dissolve dictatorship, protect the environment, integrate cultures, and reverse the growing gap between the rich and poor countries of the world. But in reality, models of the mainstream economic development has brought about the devastating destruction of the traditions, the continued subordination of poor nations and regions by richer countries of the west, environmental degradation, and posed a serious thread to indigenous and non-western cultures and economies. The conventional development thought has resulted in the penetration and expansion of western economist, media, technologies and tremendous clout to define the situation. This paper argues that through the development process, like colonization, modernization, globalization, the west is exploiting and exerting dominance over the other country’s economies, cultures and traditional way of life. The west makes space of development by identifying, defining certain problems and prescribes remedy for the “Third World” countries. Through the United Nations, the IMF, the World Bank, Donor Agencies and these institutions’ legal authority, the West along with its most advanced technologies and professional and institutional knowledge controls all major political and economic affairs of the globe. The paper argues this issue from anthropological perspective that is, holistic perspective, that encompasses economic and non-economic factors simultaneously. In fact, those who advocate development today inherit form Entitlement orientation. The Entitlement offered a universal application of reason to human affairs and it embedded in a philosophy of history with a meta-narrative concerning the continued onward march of society due to the result of science, technology and money. And in this connection, development resurrects an imagined totality of human culture. Anthropological perspective, on the other hand, rejects any such overarching “meta-narrative” and scheme of totalitarian human society and that would pretend to erase the irreducible differences of human experiences. Yet, whatever the nature and philosophy of development how anthropological view can provide alternative look in this regard has been attempted to reconstruct. Key words: Capitalism, Cold War, Colonialism, Globalization, IMF, Modernization, Post-development, Third World, World Bank, Western Economics, Neoliberalism, UNDP, United Nations Resume: Le developpement- un terme qui est entre dans le discours populaire a la fin des annees 1980 est certainement devenu l’un des mots les plus discutables du nouveau millenaire. La nature et la philosophie du developpement ont ete le sujet majeur des debats et soucis profonds dans les etudes economique, politique et culturelle ainsi que le cercle academique depuis le milieu des annees 1980. Neanmoins, la pensee economique principale sur le developpement promet qu’il peut degager les pauvres de la pauvrete, dissoudre la dictature, proteger l’environnement, melanger les cultures et raccourcir l’ecart de croissance entre les pays riches et pauvres du monde. Mais en realite, le modele du developpement economique principal a entraine la destruction devastatrice des traditions, la subordination continue des nations ou regions pauvres aux pays riches occidentaux, la degradation environnementale, et lance un defi serieux aux cultures et economies indigenes et non-occidentales. La pensee de developpement conventionnel a conduit a la penetration et l’expansion des economies, medias et technologies occidentaux, et l’influence considerable sur la situation. Le present article argumente que, a travers le processus du developpement comme la colonisation, la modernisation et la globalisation, l’Occident exerce son dominance sur les economies, les cultures et les modes de vivre traditionnels des autres pays. L’Occident cree l’espace de developpement en identifiant certains problemes et en prescrivant des remedes pour les pays du Tiers Monde. A travers l’ONU, le FMI, la Banque mondiale, les Agences de donateur et les autorites legales de ces institutions, l’Occident, moyennant ses technologies avancees et ses savoirs professionnel et institutionnel, controle toutes les affaires politiques et economique majeures du monde. L’article argumente de cette vue dans la perspective anthropologique, perspective globale, qui contient simultanement les facteurs economiques et non-economiques. En fait, ceux qui preconise le developpement aujourd’hui heritent de l’orientation de Droit. Le Droit fournit une application universelle de la raison aux affaires humaines et s’implante dans la philosophie de l’histoire avec un meta-recit concernant la marche avancee de la societe due au resultat de sciences, de technologie et d’argent. En la matiere, le developpement ressuscite une totalite de la culture humaine imaginee. La perspective anthropologique, d’autre part, rejette tout meta-recit et systeme de la societe humaine totalitaire, et pretend a effacer les differences irreductibles de l’experience humaine. Cependant, quoi que soient la nature et la philosophie du developpement, comment le vue anthropologique peut offrir un aspect alternatif sur ce point a ete tente de reconstruire. Mots-Cles: capitalisme, guerre froide, colonialisme, globalisation, FMI, modernisation, post-developpement, Tiers Monde, Banque mondiale, economies occidentales, neoliberalisme, PDNU, ONU