Century Schoolbook CE;Century Schoolbook Cyr;Century Schoolbook Greek;Century Schoolbook Tur;Century Schoolbook Baltic;Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese);Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese);Cambria CE;Cambria Cyr;Cambria Greek;Cambria Tur;Cambria Baltic;Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese);Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese);Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese);Calibri CE;Calibri Cyr;Calibri Greek;Calibri Tur;Calibri Baltic;Times New Roman CE;Times New Roman Cyr;Times New Roman Greek;Times New Roman Tur;Times New Roman (Hebrew);Times New Roman (Arabic);Times New Roman Baltic;Times New Roman (Vietnamese)PrFont34Bin0BinSub0Frac0Def1Margin0Margin0Jc1Indent1440Lim0Lim1How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Walter Rodney 1973
Chapter OneSome Questions on Development
In contrast with the surging growth of the countries in our socialist camp and the development taking place, albeit much more slowly, in the majority of the capitalist countries, is the unquestionable fact that a large proportion of the so-called underdeveloped countries are in total stagnation, and that in some of them the rate of economic growth is lower than that of population increase.
These characteristics are not fortuitous; they correspond strictly to the nature of the capitalist system in full expansion, which transfers to the dependent countries the most abusive and barefaced forms of exploitation. It must be clearly understood that the only way to solve the questions now besetting mankind is to eliminate completely the exploitation of dependent countries by developed capitalist countries, with all the consequences that this implies.'Che Guevara, 1964.
1. 1 What is Development?
Development in human society is a many-sided process. At the level of the individual, it implies increased skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self-discipline, responsibility and material well-being. Some of these are virtually moral categories and are difficult to evaluate depending as they do on the age in which one lives, one's class origins, and one's personal code of what is right and what is wrong. However, what is indisputable is that the achievement of any of those aspects of personal development is very much tied in with the state of the society as a whole. From earliest times, man found it convenient and necessary to come together in groups to hunt and for the sake of survival. The relations which develop within any given social group are crucial to an understanding of the society as a whole: Freedom, responsibility, skill, etc. have real meaning only in terms of the relations of men in society.
Of course, each social group comes into contact with others. The relations between individuals in any two societies are regulated by the form of the two societies. Their respective political structures are important because the ruling elements within each group are the ones that begin to dialogue, trade or fight, as the case may be. At the level of social groups, therefore, development implies an increasing capacity to regulate both internal and external relationships. Much of human history has been a fight for survival against natural hazards and against real and imagined human enemies. Development in the past has always meant the increase in the ability to guard the independence of the social group and indeed to infringe upon the freedom of others - something that often came about irrespective of the will of the persons within the societies involved.
