The Importance of the People over Profits in Development among Breton Artisanal Fishers
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Over the past 50 years there has been a concerted effort on the
part of dedicated organizations, both governmental and
non-governmental, to bring about “development” in countries of the
Global South. What is meant by “development” varies widely, from large
scale economistic views that promote capitalist production and trade,
to small scale projects that focus on the welfare of people. Each view
lays claim to being the best. In this paper, I argue that development
must take the actual welfare of people as the primary goal, in
opposition to large scale capitalist growth, since the goals of
citizens may incorporate many more dimensions than can be addressed
through economic endeavours, and, further, it is the welfare of people
that is the only legitimate goal of development.
It is important to begin by presenting the contrasting
definitions of development that will be used in this paper. The
definition of large scale development comes from the closely related
perspectives of modernization and growth-oriented development
(Miller2010: 281). These understand progress to be based on
industrialization and incorporation into capitalist markets as ways to
increase a country’s gross domestic product. The benefits are assumed
to begin with industrial businesses and expand from there to the poor.
The other definition derives from the idea that national wealth should
be distributed to all citizens and that “human development” should be
supported across a broad range of areas, including education,
nutrition, safety and so on (Miller 2010: 282). To decide between these
two definitions, I will focus on whether concentrating on the economy
does, in fact, ensure that the benefits also accrue to the poor, as
well as on whether capitalist economic growth addresses all of the
issues that pertain to citizen welfare.
I will
pursue this discussion in terms of the specific ethnographic context
outlined in Menzies’ (2011) ethnography Red Flags and Lace Coiffes:
Identity and Survival in a Breton Village. [describe the ethnographic
context]
[paragraph one: dealing with idea from modernization
definition that benefits will trickle down; provide evidence from
Menzies to show this is false]
[paragraph two: dealing with idea
from distribution/human growth definition that this approach does
distribute resources to the poor; provide evidence from Menzies to show
this is true]
[paragraph three: dealing with idea from modernization
definition that helping the economy is too narrow; provide evidence
from Menzies, probably on the danger to fish reserves, etc. of the
costs of this definition; also of loss of cultural identity, etc.]
[paragraph
four: dealing with idea from distribution/human growth definition that
a focus on a broad range of elements, such as education, health,
culture, addresses people’s goals better than a single focus on the
economy; provide evidence from Menzies to support this.]
[concluding paragraph to sum up and discuss implications of my position]
List of references cited.