Discussing Development

 

Table shows HDI (Human Development Index) ranges for Latin America and the Carribean.
Source: UNDP (United Nations Development Programme). 2022. Human Development Report 2021-22: Uncertain Times, Unsettled Lives: Shaping our Future in a Transforming World. New York.

What is Development?

Development can be thought of as the mission to Improve well-being for all humans on Earth. Some goals of development are to increase access to clean water, enhance food security, enhance efficiency in industry, improve health, reduce inequality, develop better infrastructure, and reduce poverty, especially in the global south. Development is measured by several metrics including GDP (Gross Domestic Product), GNP (Gross National Product), GNI (Gross National Income), the Gini Coefficient, and HDI - Human Development Index. There are issues surrounding these traditional measurements however, and they don’t give us the whole picture of a country’s developmental state. For instance, with GDP, GNI, and GNP all you’re seeing is the market value of goods and services produced in a country which totally ignores many important metrics! I’m talking about things like inequality, exploitation, environmental degradation, access to healthcare and education, political freedom and stability, as well as the value of non-profitable things. Not to mention that you can get a skewed view of a country's well-being, because the money these metrics display might be earned by wealthy folks or foreign corporations, and their prosperity may not benefit the rest of the population.

On the bright side, we have HDI, which is a more comprehensive measure of development as it takes into account average life expectancy, amount of schooling, and GNI per capita, which can be thought of as the average income for citizens in a country. HDI is a useful tool to compare countries generally, however it has problems of its own, namely that it cannot tell us whether there is gender equality, whether there is a large gap between rural and urban populations, or whether or not the people are happy, among other things.

What should we prioritize?

Now we can’t talk about global development without bringing up the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. These 17 goals form a crucial framework for addressing the complex and interconnected challenges facing the world. All 17 are obviously important, but I am going to argue that two of the stated goals are the most important and most deserving to take priority globally. In my opinion, “ending poverty in all its forms everywhere” and “ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns” are most critical. I think these two have the broadest applications and potential.

In the developed world today, we are more productive than ever, we have more wealth and resources than the richest rulers in history could have dreamed of, and yet we aren’t putting it to the right use. I believe we have the resources, the capability, and the moral imperative to spread our resources and wealth amongst our species so that no one is suffering from a lack of basic needs. As an added plus, completing this goal would also greatly accelerate many of the other stated goals. Now, while we are bringing our fellow humans out of destitution, we need to also prioritize sustainable consumption and production patterns. Doing this will not only benefit the environment and slow climate change, but it will lessen inequality and promote healthier lives for all. Imagine if we as a society didn’t solely prioritize increasing profits and capital and instead focused on thoughtfully producing what was needed to face our shared challenges. I think it would be a beautiful world indeed.

Written by: Evan Smith