Alternative Development as Political Practice

Sheth, D. L.

doi:10.1177/030437548701200201

Cited by 63 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Actually, a number of authors have begun to speak not even of "development alternatives" but of "alternatives to development," that is, the abandonment of the whole epistemological and political field of postwar development (Apffel-Marglin and Marglin 1990; Escobar 1984Escobar -85, 1988Esteva 1987;Fals Borda 1988;Mueller 1987;Nandy 1987Nandy , 1989Rahnema 1988aRahnema , 1988bSachs In press;Shet 1987;Shiva 1989). These authors come from many parts of the world and share a number of preoccupations and interests: a critical stance with respect to established scientific discourse and, more generally, a rejection of the ethnocentric, patriarchal, and ecocidal character of development models; a defense of pluralistic grassroots movements, in the belief that these movements, and "new social movements" in general, may be providing a new basis for transforming the structures and discourses of the modern developmentalist states in the Third World; and a conviction that we must work toward a relation between truth and reality different from that which has characterized Western modernity in general and development in particular.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These authors come from many parts of the world and share a number of preoccupations and interests: a critical stance with respect to established scientific discourse and, more generally, a rejection of the ethnocentric, patriarchal, and ecocidal character of development models; a defense of pluralistic grassroots movements, in the belief that these movements, and "new social movements" in general, may be providing a new basis for transforming the structures and discourses of the modern developmentalist states in the Third World; and a conviction that we must work toward a relation between truth and reality different from that which has characterized Western modernity in general and development in particular. Although still limited, the initiatives examined by these authors, most of them at the grassroots level, are seen as providing the means to an "alternative development as political practice" (Shet 1987).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anthropology and the development encounter: the making and marketing of development anthropology

Escobar

1991

American Ethnologist

304

120

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One has to ponder, of course, the reason for this change in the anthropologist's position with regard to development and change. We have to take seriously the fact that today, more than ever, anthropologists are evincing great interest in "the development process," and significant numbers of "development anthropologists" roam, more or less at ease, the world of development, teaching at universities or working as consultants or employees for institutions such as the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (U.S. AID), and nongovernmental organizations. The apparent failure of economically oriented approaches to development prompted a reevaluation of development's "social" aspects and goals beginning in the early 1970s and, more recently, of its cultural aspects, among them the impact of development projects on local communities and the importance of local knowledge systems for programs. The new emphasis on culture has in turn opened up unprecedented opportunities for anthropologists. "Culture"-which until the 1970s was purely a residual category, since "traditional" societies were thought to be in the process of becoming "modern" through development-has become inherently problematic in development, calling for a new type of professional participation, that of the anthropologist. As with any problematization, new discourses and practices are appearing, discourses and practices that help to shape the reality to which they refer. The consequences of this process have to be ascertained.' It is thus crucial that we examine the role of anthropologists in development. To what extent do their critiques undermine the dominant discourse of development? Conversely, to what extent do anthropologists still depend on the perceptual configurations and cultural fields inaugurated by post-World War II development? Finally, do other current critiques in anthropology and development allow us to problematize the involvement of anthropologists in development projects? Inevitably, the description of local realities by anthropologists for development purposes involves a positioning in the present and a use of categories and cultural totalities that are not as free of past conditioning as researchers might wish. In their studies, and in spite of themselves, development anthropologists impose upon local realities social and political analyses that have traveled well-known terrains. These types of analyses originate in theoretical traditions in both anthropology and development that are the product of accumulated scholarly and political action, not merely neutral frameworks through which "local knowledge" innocently shows itself. It is through these analyses that anthropologists constitute themselves as subjects capable of knowing and modifying the real. Their actions create a domain of experience-certainly related to real conditions-that opens up ways to intervene in, and to control, the Third World, thus placing anthropology at the service of power. Development anthropologists argue that a significant transformation took...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropology and the development encounter: the making and marketing of development anthropology

Escobar

1991

American Ethnologist

304

120

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“…They reframed the debates regarding models of development and capitalism, social difference, and the subjects of resistance. Meanwhile, many activists and professionals from the Third World denounced development as a project of Eurocentric modernity, which imposed Western rationality and marginalized non-Western systems of knowledge (Apffel Marglin and Marglin 1990;Banuri 1990;Esteva 1987;Rahnema and Bawtree 1997;Sachs 1992;Sheth 1987;Shiva 1988). * These and other writers argued that traditional lifestyles and livelihood practices of marginalized local communities suggested the possibility of sustainable alternatives to development and heralded a "post-development" era.…”

Section: Post-development Reduxmentioning

confidence: 99%

After Post‐Development: On Capitalism, Difference, and Representation

Asher

Wainwright

2018

Antipode

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The post-development school associated with the thought of Arturo Escobar treats development as a discursive invention of the West, best countered by ethnographic attention to local knowledge of people marginalized by colonial modernity. This approach promises paths to more equitable and sustainable alternatives to development. Post-development has been criticized vigorously in the past. But despite its conceptual and political shortcomings, it remains the most popular critical approach to development and is reemerging in decolonial and pluriversal guises. This paper contends that the post-development critique of mainstream development has run its course and deserves a fresh round of criticism. We argue that those committed to struggles for social justice must critically reassess the premises of postdevelopment and especially wrestle with the problem of representation. We contend that Gayatri Spivak's work is particularly important to this project. We review some of Spivak's key texts on capitalism, difference, and development to clarify the virtues of her approach.Resumen: El pos-desarrollo, la corriente de pensamiento asociada con Arturo Escobar, trata el desarrollo como una invención discursiva de Occidente, la cual es contrarrestada de mejor forma a través de la atención etnográfica a saberes locales de los pueblos marginalizados por la modernidad colonial. Este enfoque ofrece alternativas al desarrollo que son más equitativas y sustentables. El pos-desarrollo ha sido criticado rotundamente en las últimas décadas. Pero, a pesar de sus deficiencias conceptuales y políticas, sigue siendo la crítica más popular al desarrollo y está resurgiendo en teorías decoloniales y de pluriverso. Este trabajo plantea que la corriente de pos-desarrollo como crítica del desarrollo dominante ha sido agotada, y que el desarrollo merece una nueva mirada crítica. Proponemos que los comprometidos con las luchas por justicia social deben revisar las premisas del pos-desarrollo y lidiar especialmente con la representación como una problemática central al desarrollo. Sostenemos que la obra de Gayatri Spivak es clave para este proyecto. Ofrecemos una reseña de algunos textos claves de Spivak sobre capitalismo, diferencia y desarrollo, aclarando sus aportes para una evaluación crítica del desarrollo dominante. Palabras clave: capitalismo, desarrollo, Escobar, pos-desarrollo, Spivak [Let us] demystify theory that ignores subaltern experiences and knowledge … in order to relocate their politics of place as key to our understanding of globalization. (Escobar 2008: 15)[T]o confront them is not to represent them (vertreten) but to learn to represent (darstellen) ourselves. (Spivak 1988: 288)

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“…Consequently, the success of a NGO will depend has much on their relationship with the local power structures than the suitability of their initiatives [15,31]. The work of some NGOs may be viewed with scepticism by the local power holders, especially on the back of experiences in the early 1980's when some NGOs in India promoted social activism and civil rights as an alternative to providing economic resources [32,33]. Likewise, this attitude is one that can prevail at the highest levels of Government.…”

Section: Poverty and Vulnerabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Poverty Pang in Marine Fishing Communities in the State Of A.P.: A Case Study at Vodarevu Marine Fishing Community in Prakasam District

Jacob¹,

Rao²

2016

IJMBR

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International Journal of Marine Biology and Research Open Access Research Article Andhra Pradesh State is having significant and most productive agricultural land in the country, a long coastline with aquaculture potential, significant mining and offshore oil and gas reserves, moderate levels of human development, significant entrepreneurial groups, moderately well-developed road and rail infrastructure, growing concentration of industrial activity, considerable potential for renewable energy development, and a large and prosperous Diaspora. The traditional coastal communities of Andhra Pradesh are facing pressure from the land and the depletion of the ocean ecosystem. In particular, the coastal communities at Prakasam district are over burdened with problems of poverty, unfair competition from trawlers, lack of security, unpredictable natural disasters, scarcity of drinking water, industrial pollution and so on. Vodarevu (15.8136° N, 80.3547° E) marine fishing community is one of the suffering communities with poverty and pollution pangs in Andhra Pradesh situated at 7 kms away from Chirala town. In the Vodarevu, majority of the people belong to the Vada Balija caste, but of course, this community includes several small portion of heterogeneous mixture of people from other castes like Pattapu, pallikarulu and matyakarulu. It is a very rare case in Prakasam district to observe the coexistence of marine fishing castes for livelihoods. This kind of collective effort and mutual understandings of their traditional systems are protecting them from fall. It should also be note that this community consist of both fishing and non-fishing groups together that cooperate and coordinate with each other in daily life, while the livelihood of fisheries is threatened in many ways. Social policy objective Fish is a highly perishable food, requiring proper handling and processing, if it is to be utilized in a cost-effective and efficient way for the benefit of those who rely on it for nutrition or income. FAO 2004 [2] estimates that up to 20 mn tonnes of fish are wasted by being discarded at sea immediately after being

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Alternative Development as Political Practice

Cited by 63 publications

References 1 publication

Anthropology and the development encounter: the making and marketing of development anthropology

Anthropology and the development encounter: the making and marketing of development anthropology

After Post‐Development: On Capitalism, Difference, and Representation

Poverty Pang in Marine Fishing Communities in the State Of A.P.: A Case Study at Vodarevu Marine Fishing Community in Prakasam District

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