Question

1. Post-development theorists insist that any attempt to quantify and measure “development” contributes to the further oppression of people in the Third World. Explain what they mean.

Answer 1

The World is divided into three parts after the cold war. The First World was the USA, Western countries, and its allies. The Second World was the Soviet Union, China, and other countries usually a communist bloc.

The third world is the countries that have a colonial history like Africa and Asia, these countries are economically poor, agricultural dependent, and low in trade. In these countries, people suffer from social deprivation.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the economically poor countries are usually called the third world.

The development theories are the work of scholars like James Ferguson, Gustavo Esteva, Majid Rahnema, Arturo Escobar, Wolfgang Sachs, Gilbert Rist, and Serge Latouche.

According to their theories, the Western World and the developed countries are taking advantage of the poor third world countries.

They give large amounts as aids and loans. The loans are always at a higher rate with many restrictions attached to it. The amount of inflow is less than the amount of outflow the lender countries get.

They want the country to opt for globalization, thus their product reaches the borrower country that affects the local people and their trade. As the product from the developed countries are of higher quality and cheaper. The local artisans are badly affected.

The higher rate of interest eats away whatever they earn. The borrower country has to stick to the rule set by the lender countries thus many educated people like engineers and other professionals work in those countries thus depriving the locals of their job.

The theory was developed in response to the feeling that the countries that borrow the fund are not developing the way it should have developed. It has resulted in the depletion of their resources to the developed world. The poverty is not eradicated, it has brought cultural alienation, environmental destruction, unfulfilled expectations, unemployment, and lows self-esteem, all these together have made the question that the funds provided for the development are in fact is the source of income and prosperity of the lender countries. For example, when IMF gives funds to the oil-rich country the benefit from the selling of oil goes to the US the main fund provider, and the local people are deprived of their income.

These are often observed in the African and Asian countries where every year the fund is provided in as aid or loan, still, they are suffering from local as well as natural calamities.

No progress is noticed the way it should have happened. It has further oppressed third world people.