Social and Cultural Anthropology | Development

Welcome to the Chapter on Development!

Hi everyone! This chapter, "Development," is one of the most exciting areas in anthropology because it forces us to apply critical thinking to massive global issues. It’s not just about economics; it's about power, culture, and who gets to decide what 'progress' means.

Development is often presented as a neutral, universal good, but anthropologists look underneath the surface. We ask: Whose interests are being served? And how do massive projects affect the people living on the ground?

Ready to challenge the status quo? Let's dive in!

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Section 1: Development Anthropology – A Critical Stance

1.1 Defining the Field

When we talk about development, we are usually referring to planned, often institutionalized efforts to improve living standards or economic growth in a country or community.

Anthropologists generally approach this topic in two key ways:

• Anthropology of Development: This is the critical, theoretical study. Anthropologists act as critics, examining the ideology, culture, and power structures of the development organizations themselves (e.g., the World Bank, NGOs, national aid agencies).
• Anthropology in Development: This is the applied practice. Anthropologists act as consultants, using ethnographic methods to help design and implement specific projects so they are more culturally appropriate and effective on the local level.

Analogy Alert!

Think of it like building a new city park. The Anthropology of Development asks: "Why are we building a park here, and who owns the land now?" (The critique). The Anthropology in Development asks: "What kind of plants do local people actually use, and where should the benches be placed so they feel safe?" (The application).

1.2 Key Anthropological Critiques

The biggest critique anthropology brings to the table is that development is not just a technical process; it is a cultural process rooted in Western, industrial notions of progress.

A. Ethnocentrism and Universalism:

• Development models often assume a linear path: "Traditional" societies must eventually become "Modern" societies, following the blueprint of Western industrial nations.
• Anthropologists argue this is ethnocentric (judging other cultures by the standards of one's own), ignoring local knowledge, values, and definitions of a "good life."

B. The 'Development Industry':

This term refers to the vast network of governmental organizations (GOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and international financial institutions (IFIs) that manage aid. Anthropologists study this industry as a culture unto itself, with its own jargon, rules, and power dynamics.

Common Anthropological Findings:

• Bureaucracy Over Needs: Funds often get tied up in administrative costs rather than reaching the target population.
• Short-Termism: Projects are often designed around short funding cycles (1-3 years), failing to address deep-rooted structural issues.
• Top-Down Approach: Decisions are made in capital cities (or Washington/Geneva) and imposed upon local communities without genuine consultation.

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Section 2: Theoretical Frameworks in Development

To understand the history of development studies, you need to grasp these two opposing theories which dominate global thinking post-WWII.

2.1 Modernization Theory (Post-WWII to 1970s)

This was the earliest dominant framework. It assumes all societies follow the same path from traditional to modern.

• Core Idea: Underdeveloped countries lack modern institutions, capital, and cultural values (like hard work or individualism).
• The Solution: Western aid, technology, and governance structures must be imported to "kick-start" the transition.
• Anthropological Critique: This theory is profoundly ethnocentric. It dismisses traditional ways of life as inherently deficient and fails to acknowledge historical factors (like colonialism) that may have caused underdevelopment.

2.2 Dependency Theory (1970s onwards)

Developed largely by scholars in the Global South, this theory emerged as a direct critique of modernization.

• Core Idea: Underdevelopment is not a stage, but a structural relationship. Wealthy "core" nations actively maintain the poverty of "periphery" nations to ensure a cheap supply of labor and resources.
• Example: A periphery country exports cheap raw coffee beans but must import expensive processed coffee and equipment from the core country. This system ensures wealth flows constantly to the center.
• Key Concept: Core and Periphery – The global system is fundamentally unequal, and development in the West is built upon the dependence of the rest.

Did you know?

Some anthropologists argue that development projects themselves sometimes reinforce dependency, as local communities become reliant on external aid workers, foreign money, and imported technology they cannot maintain.

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Section 3: Measuring Success – Beyond GDP

One of the most profound contributions of anthropology to development studies is challenging how "success" is defined.

3.1 Critique of Economic Metrics

The primary measurement tool used by major development agencies is often Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or Gross National Income (GNI) per capita. These measure purely economic growth.

• The Problem: Economic growth does not always equate to human well-being. If a country builds a huge dam (boosting GDP through construction), but displaces 50,000 people and destroys their ancestral farmlands, is that development?
• The Danger: Focusing only on GDP encourages large, capital-intensive projects (like factories or dams) rather than small, local improvements (like sanitation or literacy) that actually benefit the majority.

3.2 Anthropological Focus on Well-being

Anthropologists argue that measures must be holistic and include factors that are locally defined as valuable.

• Well-being: This concept moves beyond income to include factors like environmental health, social cohesion, personal safety, access to clean water, and the ability to practice one's culture.
• Human Development Index (HDI): While imperfect, the UN's HDI is a step forward, measuring life expectancy, education level, and income per capita, reflecting a broader view of human capability.

Case Study: Gross National Happiness (GNH)

The small nation of Bhutan famously prioritizes Gross National Happiness (GNH) over GDP. GNH includes promoting sustainable development, preserving cultural values, conserving the natural environment, and establishing good governance. This is a direct challenge to the Western, materialist view of progress.

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Section 4: Engaging with Ethnography in Development

This is where the rubber meets the road. Ethnographic fieldwork provides the necessary nuance often missing from policy papers.

4.1 Unintended Consequences

Ethnographic material frequently reveals that development projects have highly unintended consequences, often because planners failed to understand local social structures, kinship ties, or environmental usage.

Example: Agricultural Projects and Gender

In many African societies, women traditionally held control over subsistence crops (feeding the family), while men focused on cash crops. A development project designed to boost economic output might introduce a new cash crop (e.g., high-yield maize) and provide training and loans only to male household heads (following Western legal norms).

• Unintended Consequence: This marginalizes women, undermines their economic independence, and can lead to worse family nutrition, as men may spend the cash income on other things.
• The Anthropologist's Role: An ethnographer would have seen that the traditional division of labor required women's involvement in the planning phase to ensure success and equity.

4.2 Ethnography and Infrastructure Projects

Large infrastructure projects (like huge dams or mines) are central to the development agenda but often cause social upheaval. Anthropologists use fieldwork to document the human cost.

• Focus: The process of displacement and forced relocation. Moving a community is not just a logistical challenge; it destroys social networks, ancestral ties to land, and religious sites.
• Ethnographic Finding: People often resist relocation not just for economic compensation, but because their identity and sense of self are tied to a specific location (e.g., farming a sacred plot, accessing specific communal resources).

4.3 Microfinance and its Cultural Impact

Microfinance (offering small loans to low-income individuals, usually women, to start businesses) is widely celebrated as a development success.

• Anthropological Critique (e.g., based on work in South Asia): While it boosts income for some, ethnography shows that microloans often transfer traditional debt pressure from men to women. Women, who are held responsible by the lending groups, face extreme social pressure, shame, and sometimes violence if they default, often without having control over how the money is actually invested by their husbands or male relatives.
• Key Takeaway: What looks like "empowerment" on paper can sometimes be a source of intense cultural stress and debt burden in practice.