How has the world come to be today, specifically, how has the ‘Third World’ find itself in such abysmal conditions? Post-development thought argues that it was the fault of western development. Post-development is a reaction to the tragedies of development. It criticizes the idea of development and development as means to relieving people of the ‘Third World’ of their suffering. What sets post-development apart from other reactions to development is the overall understanding that development should be stopped. Post-development thinkers have come to understand development as the cause behind the insufferable conditions found in the ‘Third World.’ While post-development provides a useful way of critiquing development it fails to shed light on alternatives to it. What is the ‘Third World’ nations to do about this detriment that is development of the west? An assessment of post-development thought highlights the limitations of this utopian ideal. Further, an examination of Bolivia during Evo Morales’s rise to power attempts to show the lack of feasibility of a post-development world. In the end, is seen an intangible thought that does little to implement progress in the condition of ‘Third World’ nations. To understand the limitations and flaws of post-development thought a synopsis on the reasons behind the emergence of post-development is necessary. The idea of development is largely a reaction to modernization in the west. Post World War II the world saw dramatic efforts to solving world problems. This was an objective of the Truman Doctrine in 1949; the doctrine addressed the inequalities and poor living conditions of ‘Third World’ peoples and emphasized the necessary forces of modern scientific knowledge and free global market to promote peace and prosperity. The process would entail a complete restructuring of ‘Third World’ societies that were seen as underdeveloped and backwards; more modern countries like the US strive to replicate their highly industrialized ways which included ‘technilization’ of agriculture and high
and all the affiliates with it, falls short of incorporating these beliefs into an active and functioning state. Although the future of Bolivia is uncertain, one can conclude the impractical idea of becoming an indigenous nation, and by that I mean a return to the local. Currently, the indigenous do not live outside modernity but coexist, with an indigenous modernity in formation. In the end, we should ask ourselves, is post-development thought dead or could its existence be truly acknowledged given its intangibleness? Furthermore, Bolivia’s example questions the capacity to which post-development, in the sense of pure democracy, can be carried out in this hegemonic capitalist world. Works Cited Bomberry, Victoria. "Refounding the Nation: A Generation of Activism in Bolivia." American Behavioral Scientist 51 (2008). EBSCO. Web. Crabtree, John. "Bolivia: Playing by New Rules." Reclaiming Latin America: Experiments in Radical Social Democracy. By Geraldine Lievesley and Steve Ludlam. London: Zed, 2009. Print. Escobar, Arturo. "Imagining a Post-Development Era? Critical Thought, Development and Social Movements." Third World and Post-Colonial Issues: 20-56. JSTOR. Web. Escobar, Arturo. "Introduction: Development and the Anthropology of Modernity; The Problematization of Poverty: The Tale of Three Worlds and Development; Conclusion: Imagining a Postdevelopment Era." Encountering Development: The Making and Unmaking of the Third World. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1995. Print.
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