Human Development
Human-centred development
Description:
This seeks to enhance the full capacities and capabilities of human beings. It is often considered synonymous with human resources development and is increasingly regarded as a right to which all people are entitled. Current concepts of human development encompass the multiple dimension of the development process as well as the need to seek endogenous roots rather than rely on mimetic approaches. It is a development process in which the human element is not only the means but the end, and may be considered both as analytically complex and, at the same time, holistically.Analytically, the subprocesses of development - economic, political, social and so on - may each individually be treated from the human-centred perspective. This implies a sharp change of focus. With economic development, for example, a human-centred economic development implies the internalizing of so-called externalities, so that ecological, social, cultural and psychological preconditions and consequences of economic activity are considered. Quality of work is considered in terms of its impact on workers' well-being and creativity, scale of production processes, decentralization of economic wealth and power, limits to growth, as well as tangible output. The challenge to such an approach is to make it truly operative - examples are Vanek's work on self-management and work inspired by Gandhi's view of economic progress in conditions of mass poverty.
Going on to political aspects, one of the main problems is to link global or macro views with local or micro. Macro views emphasize economic and political restraints arising from the structure of the world system. Micro views stress consciousness-raising, participation, direct democracy and community building. The difficulty is to bridge the two levels. Local people need to learn, through new kinds of local education and organization, how to confront powerful global forces in their local communities. Both economic and political approaches require an increased openness and sensitivity to the complexities of the real world and a refusal to remain in narrowly defined limits.
In social development, the human-centred approach does not equate development simply with satisfaction of basic needs. Although this is important, the satisfaction of other needs must not be postponed or left to chance. It may be that the process of satisfying basic needs may be the means of satisfying other needs - the basic need of housing being fulfilled with active participation of those concerned in the design and building of the houses, for example. The human-centred approach goes beyond even the satisfaction of human needs at all, since this looks on the human being as a product or reflection of his social structure. Although influenced by this structure, each individual has the potential for being an autonomous centre of experience and freedom. This implies the notion of personal growth through enriching and expanding the realm of inner experience, not in an individualist sense but as a requirement of development planning so that rigid, homogenizing formulae are avoided.
Holistically, the atomistic approach to various dimensions of human development must also be avoided. Although each dimension may be unique and not reducible to another, none is really independent. In fact, the complex interrelatedness of the different dimensions and levels of the developmental process must be taken into account by any adequate theory. For example, the cultural context is the most powerful source of day-to-day living, its holistic qualities permeating and providing meaning to any activity taking place in a social setting.
A conceptual framework for relationships between development process and indigenous culture is still lacking, but one step on the path adopts the organic/inorganic distinction. In organic development (possible equatable with developed countries), development is induced internally and economic, social and cultural evolution are closely connected. In inorganic or nonorganic development (possibly equatable with underdeveloped countries), development is externally induced and connections between economic, social and cultural evolution are loose. However, although development in the west has been promoted internally and in that sense has been organic, the model of development which has been followed has been, to a significant extent, nonorganic, so that in fact there may be said to be currently two nonorganic forms of development. One, called underdevelopment, is mainly generated from outside. Penetration from the ever-expanding modern system produces a cultural shock with a number of disruptive effects, traditional equilibrium being destroyed without being replaced by another. The second, possibly labelled overdevelopment, is mainly generated from inside through forces linked to the development model and leading to violence over nature, conviviality and inner balance. The two forms of nonorganic development are said to be the basis of the current world crisis in its many manifestations.
A human-centred perspective of development would therefore have to take into account the complex interrelations between different aspects and levels of social life and would need to be internally motivated, rooted in people's culture, values and collective will. This would therefore be organic and not mechanical. This model is no more a utopia than the present mechanical model was in the past; and the present model, because it shows signs of being deeply affected by the overall crisis, is open to change. Just as the present model exists only because of the collective view of the world, so this may change with a change in collective world view, and human-centred development is a practical response to the current crisis. A crucial component is self-reliance which must not imply abandoning of high technology - or backwardness and increased dependency may result. Historically it would seem that there must be a mix between openness and closedness. If there is full mobilization of both human and non-human resources and full reliance on them, then foreign advanced technology, selectively incorporated, might reinforce rather than weaken national autonomy. However, at a national level, physical or social limitations prevent sufficient internal integration to avoid external dependency, and collective rather than national self-reliance seems more likely to succeed.
A human-centered society should satisfy the following criteria:
(1) [Social equity], with human development equally possible to all members of society.
(2) [Interregional and international equity], so that, while promoting the human development of its own members, a society should respect the integrity of other societies and not indulge in any activity which might prevent members of those societies from achieving human development.
(3) [Living presence of the future], so that present generations, in pursuing their own human development, do not endanger that of future generations, whether environmentally or in terms of respecting historical achievements and values that go towards defining cultural identity.
(4) [Sensitivity to the present], so that (conversely) the development of future generations is not at the cost of imposed deprivation or oppression of the current generation.
(5) [Participation and meaning], so that society provides not only equity but also a meaning frame for human existence, common feelings and goals being shared and each person having an opportunity to contribute to their realization without loss of personal freedom.