The Development Project

To many people today, ‘development’ is thought as a sort of charitable economic and social aid from one nation to another, an altruistic desire to lend a hand to the less fortunate of the world so that they may enjoy the same comforts as the most privileged. However, Phillip McMichael, author of “Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective” has a somewhat different point of view concerning the enterprise that is development. He sees development as more of a project, one that has been guided in the past by motives that are not necessarily humanitarian and entirely selfless in nature. In his perspective, though development the 19th century was understood in theory as the improvement of mankind, it emerged in practice as the social engineering and economic shaping of fledgling independent nations. This so-called ‘development project’ has gradually evolved in meaning and character into the enterprise it has become today.

In colonial times, the development project begun to take shape, as a full-fledged undertaking, by defining the relationship between the self-proclaimed core nations and so-called periphery nations of that era. While its underlying philosophical motive was the humanitarian assistance from European empires to economically and technologically inferior nations, the prevailing political and economic influences of the times guided the development project in a quite different direction. With the advent of industrialization, the dawn of capitalism and its increased demands for labor and natural resources, the momentum that fueled the mission to stimulate development in peripheral nations was intertwined with a slightly imperialistic ambition bent on extending the economic and militaristic power of Europe onto the rest of the continents in the world. Thus, as expressed by McMicheal, development had become a power relationship where the predominant objective was to “either adapt or marginalize colonial subjects to the European presence. Incidentally, the colonized nations had marginally benefited from the presence and development initiatives of their colonizers who built ports, roads, railways, schools and other social and economic infrastructures. It is however essential to note that these developments were intended to support and maintain the European occupation of their colonies.

During the twentieth century the development project began to take an interesting turn. European colonialism was collapsing as World War II had drained its military and economic power. A global movement of decolonization was reaching its peak, as Asian, Latin and African colonies began to demand their independence. The growing educated masses within the colonies began to shed light on the inherent immorality of colonization and thus psychologically broke its link to the implied benevolence of the development project. In consequence, development began to take on a new meaning, one that linked the birth of sovereign nations and their pursuit of economic development with that of social justice.
A new power, the United States of America, had emerged following the economic setbacks in Europe caused by the Second World War. It had become the most powerful nation in the world, surpassing all other powers economically, militaristically, and ideologically. Its image as the prime model of a developed nation warranted its position as an unofficial world leader. A new development paradigm emerged within this new world order that was to be led by the United States of America. The World was now virtually divided into developed and undeveloped regions. This division facilitated the defining of the new relationship between the two regions, where one side would pursue national economic growth while the other would provide assistance and guidance in the wealthier region’s endeavor. However, the existence of a rival economic power, the Soviet Union, and its competing communistic ideology proved to be a significant obstacle to nations with capitalistic politico-economic goals. The advent of this clashing economic ideology provided the motivation for America and its economic allies to assign to the development project a second agenda. This agenda was to secure the economic loyalty and resources of the developing world towards capitalistic ideals and values. This second motive is what prompted McMicheal to use the epithet ‘project’ so as to emphasize “the political content of development, as an organizing principle rather than an end in itself”. The development project therefore doubled as a scheme to promote the adoption of the First World’s concept of civilization and respectable standards of living in the rest the world. The development project was composed of two components to achieve its ends: A political framework and an economic framework.
The political framework of the development project was intended to emulate the politico-geographic structure of the First World where “Nation States were territorially defined political systems based on the government-citizen relationship that emerged in nineteenth century Europe.” Although the relative homogeneity of this political model within today’s world has created the impression that it is the only viable system of rule that has ever existed. The current division of, for instance, the African continent into pseudo-states with no respect to the natural ancestral boundaries, and its adoption of European style political systems were orchestrated in London and Paris by the ex-colonial powers, despite the African elites wishes. Indeed, the new paradigm of the development project facilitated the dependence of the so-called underdeveloped nations of the world on the aid of developed nations in this era while stripping them of their power to shape their own political systems and economies.
The other facet of the development project was its economic framework. While the economic growth of the underdeveloped nations was a principal concern of developed nations, their guidance in the manner in which it was to be pursued was implicitly a condition of their economic aid. Capitalism being the ideology that provided the impetus for economic growth in the First World, underdeveloped countries cultural practices that involved the sharing of wealth and cooperative labor were viewed as traditional obstacles to economic growth regardless of whether they sustained the community. However, the underdeveloped countries’ late start within this economic system based on free-enterprise and competition put them in a position of economic vulnerability in the face of the most seasoned capitalistic nations as they lacked the latter’s competitive technological and economic base. Just as the underdeveloped countries were receiving aid from their developed neighbors, they were also being economically dominated and exploited through their vulnerabilities within a capitalistic system where the survival of the fittest economy legitimately rules. The resulting outcome for the third world countries would be an endless cycle of economic dependence. This new relationship between the core and the periphery would latter on be branded as “Neo-colonialism”.

As newly independent nations were being created based on the western politico-economic model, they assumed their role in the new developed nation – underdeveloped nation relationship. Underdeveloped nations provided the raw materials, unskilled and marginally skilled labor, as they purchased First World technology and industrialized goods. However the technology and goods were mostly paid for with loans received from First World nation led international organizations which had been ostensibly set up to aid Third World countries in their economic development. With the goal of organizing international development cooperation and to foster a joint effort in reshaping the development project and its strategies, two Bretton Woods initiatives, the World Bank and The International Monetary Fund were created. In Addition to the United Nations, these organizations have taken the goals of the development project and now serve as its vehicle. They have thus received much criticism throughout the years, but they are slowly receiving pressure to define what authentic development entails and to gradually shift their missions to match the genuine needs of developing countries today.

Spirituality is the path of the heart.

Religion is a consensus between human leaders of an organized group that claims to hold the truth. The nature of this truth is subject to these leaders often varying interpretations of their respective books which they all consider to be the absolute source of truth. These truths are then presented to their adherents, who based on their upbringing, use of intellect, degree of morality, type of background, geography, or any combination of these, will choose to embrace the interpretations or not.
Spirituality is the search of a direct connection with life through one’s innate sense of morality and earnest adherence to one's own conscience when unadulterated by one’s own personal biases and selfish desires. Spirituality is independent of geography, culture and time. Spirituality is the essence of religion and is all inclusive in its application to humanity. It has many paths, some of which are religious, other which or not. Yet it would be foolish to believe that spirituality could be achieved without the knowledge which comes from religion. For religion has long been the main distributer of spiritual knowledge; That is the knowledge of the spiritual dimensions of man and the various rituals, practices and philosophies that promote the expansion of man’s moral outlook and hence his spiritual growth. In fact, religion could be credited for keeping the level of true spirituality that exists today alive.
Yet it also has a dark side. How has religion become the basis upon which rested the fervor in men to commit atrocities towards humanity such as that of, slavery, colonization, misguided jihads, the crusades, religious terrorisms and other religiously motivated acts of violence? The answer lies in the motivation of the leaders of these violent religious movements, whether the movements describe themselves as religious or not.
The books upon which the religious groups which commit these acts are based could scarcely be blamed for their interpretations, because they mostly all promote a message of peace and brotherhood within humanity. But it is easy for man to silence their own conscience when atrocities are being committed in the name of what they believe to be the divine. All the while authorities, which hold the power of shaping the moral code of their followers, do so in a manner which guaranties their survival as a religion and maintains their power over mankind along with the exalted position they find themselves in.
At the same time, people who have risen to denounce the inhumanities of the world are often ignored, silenced or killed. These people are listened to and respected based on their virtue and the human quality of their message. These particular teachers may have different religious backgrounds or non-religious approaches to spiritual growth, yet they all agree upon the value of human life and the necessity for peace within humanity. They all understand the connection each one of us has with the rest of humanity and even the rest of existence. Based on this connection they can see that what we do affects the rest of humanity through a complex series of reverberations which thus cause a domino effect of positivity or negativity which then ripples throughout the consciousness of men. Spirituality and science are at agreement that nothing is destroyed only transformed. Therefore by condoning negative actions such as retaliation instead of understanding we transform the positive inclinations of the men whom we consider enemies, sometimes along with that of their friends and family who are potentially young and innocent, into a negative focus which eventually surfaces as another atrocity that we often immediately accept as a validation of our own vile acts. This is why the world needs spirituality as the uniting web that connects us all regardless of our religions or allegiances. All should be free to follow their own paths to spiritual growth and fulfillment in this life, without the self-righteousness of those who believe that they hold the absolute truth to the extent of validating the taking of the lives and the sustenance of their so called enemies.
Is it not possible to stand up for what we believe in and yet do so peacefully?
Has our heart not helped us distinguish right from wrong throughout our lifetime?
The most important affliction on humanity is nothing else but the pollution of the heart through the conditioning of the mind. It is this conditioning which allows us to view that which is obviously contrary to love and respect of humanity as acceptable. While deep within our heart we all know our individual responsibility towards peace and when the effects of our actions contradict our natural sense of morality as human beings.

Spirituality isn't a religion, it is our earnest search for the truth and our belief that this truth must accord the same opportunity for joy and dignity to all of humanity regardless of our distinct natural human characteristics and backgrounds. It is identified in man by his genuineness and wealth in true virtue. It is the voice within our own heart that guides us towards peace and harmony.

Powers that be.

Essay Question: Some observers have said that the state has become increasingly irrelevant in the face of transnational corporations and international governing bodies such as the World Trade Organization and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Others have argued the centrality of the state.
Based on our readings to this point, do you believe that the state is still a relevant actor in determining the course of development within that state’s border? What examples from our readings support your view that the state either is relevant or otherwise?

Introduction:

Whether it has emerged by chance or vision, the establishment of institutions which hold power and influence over the masses has long been a strategy for leading societies to greater social and economic prosperity. These institutions have come about in the form of monarchies and later on governments which possess relative control over the natural resources and organization of the population’s activities and livelihood. The very prevalence in our world of this social construct’s existence and its purpose in maintaining a relatively stable society could be an argument for its necessity. As Hobbes states “Since each person sought power over others, a highly destructive process ensued in which extreme social and economic uncertainty were the norm: the ‘life of man’ under these conditions could only be solitary, poor, nasty brutish and short…to avoid such fate, rational individuals would recognize the need for a state to impose order on the people”However, the world’s political and economic dynamics have become more complex today and it has become increasingly difficult to determine where the real powers influencing the direction of a society’s development lies. As the reality of globalization has made its presence more conspicuous in the world, geographical borders have become increasingly blurry as far as the influences from the various powers that determine a society’s development are concerned. In our times, a government’s power is subject to various competing influences, such as those of transnational corporations, the lingering role of religious institutions, international governing bodies, governments of neighboring nations, and other local political or military organizations within the nation’s borders. A state’s relevance as an actor in ultimately deciding the course of development within its borders is contingent upon its relative strength and its ability to suppress the multitude of competing powers with which it coexists.

Competing Powers from within the State’s Borders

Religious Institutions:

Even within the countries which possess a stable and influential government there are other powers that influence the populace in a significant yet sometimes subtle manner. As a government’s strength weakens these powers’ presence makes itself more manifest within the society. Religious institutions are one of these types of powers. This is what makes them a force to be reckoned with and governments will usually collaborate with them mainly out of necessity. A good example that demonstrates the power of religious institutions is evident in the case of the current situation in Iraq. After the fall of Saddam Hussein and hence the dismantling of the Iraqi government, two influential radical Islamic groups emerged to fill in the political void. Sunni and Shiites were already significant powers that made their presence felt in the political arena. However, in the absence of a secular government, they perceived the opportunity to take control over the entire country. The American occupation, which is a power in its own right, has attempted to bolster a democratic government in Iraq, thus making themselves an obstacle in the way of these religious forces. The resulting magnitude of the conflict taking place in Iraq and the obstinate resistance of these religious sects is testimony to the extent of power that religious institutions may hold within a state’s borders. Moreover, the support from neighboring countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia based on religious affinity demonstrates religious institutions’ power to influence the political dynamics in a country, even from outside of its borders.

Non-Government Political and Military Powers inside the State:

Some organizations or institutions emerge and grow in power within the nation when it is in a state of anarchy. This state of anarchy typically begins with a crisis of some sort; one which leads to social unrest and eventually political upheaval. All events, whether natural or human, that bring about conditions of social disruption and disorder are likely to become breeding grounds for criminal organizations, rebel groups, as well as radical and fundamentalist groups. The people’s trust in the legitimate government, especially in these times, and its ability to sustain peace and order is crucial to its maintenance of power within the state. Once this trust is broken or significantly shaken, the masses tend to turn to other powers which may sometimes rely on violence and tyranny to maintain a corrupted kind of order. The government’s relevance is therefore tightly connected with its success in preventing or effectively obviating the type of factors which weaken its political strength, and in suppressing illegitimate and unruly powers from within, and occasionally from outside, its borders. Many real world examples illustrate this type of situation where the government loses its power due to the dire environmental and social conditions that prevail within its state borders. For instance, in Sierra Leone a 27 year old army captain, Valentine Strasser, has taken control of most of the rural interior of the country, making the government powerless within this territory. This critical political disturbance was made possible by, among other things, the state of environmental degradation of the rural area which robbed the locals of their livelihood and the disaffection it engendered within the various village leaders of the region. In this case the government became irrelevant following its inability to mend the socio-economic conditions which drove a number of its citizens to join the rebel army. Strasser’s access to military grade weapons as well as the significantly sized rebel army under control also played a role in the rebel leader’s ability to secure for himself and his cronies a sort of illegitimate rule over the region, and hence his establishment of a criminal military government.

Competing Powers from outside the State’s Borders

Foreign States

Governments understand the scope of influence that they may wield with aggressive trade, military might and propaganda. This influence is often used deliberately to shape foreign countries into states that can eventually provide economic, political and military benefits from the hegemonic nation. This manner of acquiring power within another states borders acts as some form of imperialism or modern colonialism where the hijacking of power is more subtle and often covert. The United States of America is a prime example of a nation which resorts to such forms of power acquisition, although many other nations such as China use their influence in this manner as well. A government’s democratic control within its state’s borders is dependent on both its legitimacy in the eyes of the people but also on the masses’ sense of nationalism. Diplomatic tactics such as propaganda which aims to gain some kind of loyalty from foreign states’ civilians serve to facilitate the acting nation’s efforts to spread their influence beyond their borders. Though the power gained from such actions isn’t always remarkable it certainly can be a game changer in the political dynamics between the propagandist nation and the receiving one. In Addition, the use of intelligence agencies, transparent or otherwise military occupations and the exercise of economic leverage (which we shall elucidate further in the following section), all serve to weaken part of foreign states’ governments for exploitative purposes.

International Institutions

Though many of the international institutions contain the word “international”, “world” or some synonym of those words in their title, in actuality they are mostly dominated by a few individual nations. When the individualistic interests of these nations are in conflict with the all-inclusive goals of the organization, often these nations’ ambitions are the ones that prevail. International institutions can sometimes be used as an extension of an economically powerful nation’s political arm to effectively push its own pet ideologies upon other less powerful nations. This trend is exemplified by the core nations’ use of the World Bank and the IMF to impose neo-liberal and capitalist economic solutions to nations seeking international aid. Countries that resist these ideologies or worse resort to opposing ideologies such as communism are either alienated from all aid or sanctioned economically. The kind leverage that nations which contribute substantial financial support to international organizations enjoy provides them with a means of hijacking some of the decision power of developing countries as far as determining the course of development within their own borders is concerned.

Transnational Corporations

Facilitated by the spread of capitalism and globalization, transnational corporations are playing an increasingly important role in the course of development of a country. Oftentimes the state will welcome these corporations presence in their country as a strategy to increase employment and further their economic growth. However, transnational institutions will sometimes play a negative role in the development of a country and foster a trend of corruption from within the state’s government. Transnational companies that intend to use inhumane and environmentally damaging methods of production, for instance, find that corrupted governments create a favorable environment for their endeavors. Additionally, mass advertizing could be viewed as some commercial sort of propaganda, as the population is lured into the consumption of international products at the expense of their own local goods. A developing state will lose its power to make effective policies that benefit its people, when its government officials are consistently being tempted to accept bribes from transnational companies. Especially the ones seeking profit with the fewest government restrictions to the manner in which they are legally allowed to acquire it.

Conclusion:

The quick answer to the question of whether “the state is still a relevant actor in determining the course of development within its border?” is “It depends…” However, current trends lend credibility to the notion that the state is becoming increasingly irrelevant due to internal and external influences. The state is constantly struggling for its survival as the ultimate ruling power and its failure is always a potentiality looming ahead, especially for the ineffective and the disaster-prone state. Any event within the state which is liable to cause a state of anarchy, and therefore state failure, needs to be promptly obviated for the state to remain relevant within its borders. The main focus should be keeping the nation socially stable, whether it is by satisfying the citizens’ needs in order to stay elected in a democratic regime or by preventing the population from reaching its threshold of dissatisfaction in a dictator regime. Once the population is lacking its basic needs such as food, water, and a descent livelihood, state failure becomes immanent and the competing powers from within and outside the state begin to seep at the states power and compromise its relevance. Other factors that determine state failure and hence its relevance in directing the course of development are its control of the physical territory within the state borders, its monopoly on the legitimate use of force its ability to maintain the functioning of public services, and to represent the nation as a full member of the international community.

Lets not just make art, lets become art!

Anybody else notice how the music has become adulterated. There are so many horrible musicians today who dont produce anything of real substance. The substance I speak of is soul. You dont need to be black to "have soul" or be "soulful", even though the term has long been reserved for the African American style of singing. Having soul is the quality of singing or playing from the heart or well... from the soul. When artists are motivated by greed their music is bland and lacks that true substance that finds itself touching our very being. Some greedy artists make great music, dont get me wrong. But I'm willing to bet that when they are actually creating music, they do so out of a genuine love for music and the creative process. There is something spiritual and even healing about playing music this way. My mom used to say that she worships God through creating art. This makes lots of sense to me, because a true artist lets a higher part of themselves do the creating. The mind or ego is only involved as a tool for the soul, which is the true self.
I think that art is powerful because of this. It transcends our false selves that we have learned to associate with through experience and social indoctrination. It reveals the ego for what it is, a tool.
Michelangelo is known to have said that "The true work of art is but a shadow of the divine perfection"
The true work of Art is perfection in a way. The process is characterized by a dissociation with one's ego and a oneness with the true self. This is why we become so absorbed when performing from the soul. It almost feels like it is not coming from us. But what if... What if just as we were all caught up in the fallacy of a flat earth in the past, today we are lost in mistaking our ego for our true self. What if we are lost to the extent that only from time to time does our real self surface from within to do something unexpected and often extraordinary. Inspiration and Innovation come from that place we call "the true self". Imagine a life uncontrolled by any exterior forces but this self. This self which is still connected to the divine, and in fact is divine itself. We would be true art ourselves. You would be a living work of art!
The more one gets to know one's true self the more they seem to be different. They emanate something powerful from their personality, something attractive that you just cant put your finger on. We all hate the thought of being controlled by others yet when we are controlled by our ego that is exactly what is occurring. After all, the ego is but a combination of memes (any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation) that come from without. If we lived the same way that we create true art, putting our souls (our heart) in everything we do to make it come out beautiful, we would truly be ourselves. We would use our experience to guide our life, instead of have our experience, along with fear and pride control our life.

No longer content with making art, let us become Art ourselves!

You are born... once again.

You are born. The journey thus begins. You see light for the first time and its violent brightness painfully blinds you, announcing the suffering that awaits you in this herein earth. But you keep your eyes open, as if you know, instinctively, that something good lies behind this discomfort. Against the urge to close your eyes pushes a stronger force, the impulse that stems directly from the soul. An intelligence channels through the collective unconscious and on to the mind, delivering a guidance that moves the body and directs its most minute processes with the purpose of ensuring your survival in this new world; just as it has previously done and continues to do for all the flora and fauna in this temporary home called earth. This intelligence instills in you an urge to keep your awareness focused on the light despite the uneasiness of the task. Finally, through the light, forms begin to take shape. You get your first glimpse at beauty and it sets in motion a feeling of curiosity that will hereon drive you towards seeking to appreciate and contemplating the world around you and all its pleasures. Suddenly it occurs to you that these shapes and forms that you see have different properties. For example, some are endowed with movement and others remain still. Similarities and patterns emerge and stimulate your mind. You remember these patterns and use them to understand other patterns. You’ve been introduced to logic and its role in acquiring a certain type of wealth of intuitive importance called knowledge. About the same time that all this visual and psychological phenomena is taking place, you become aware of another sort of stimuli. At first it is a cacophony of sounds analogical to the visual chaos you experienced earlier. Soon, distinct sounds begin to become apparent. Your mother speaks. The richness and spiritually charged voice of a human being strikes you as being both beautiful and substantial. It is a familiar voice; one you feel a deep and intense emotional connection to. You begin to feel a loving vibe flow through your entire body. The feeling is pure and comforting. Its substance immediately strikes you as divine. You cherish it and search for that feeling for the rest of your life… until you find it in, amongst other sources, a soulmate, a lover of pure intent, a child, a true friend or in life itself.
Yet at one point you get caught up in the mental world which you have created with a little the help from your environment, and through your natural yearning for independence and individuality. Your connection to the intelligence now hangs by a thread. Somewhere along the line you forgot how to maintain your link to its abundance of inspiration and intuitive guidance, and you began to rely on the imperfection of your own mind and sometimes on the mind of other fellow human beings who have lost their connection as well. A second birth thus becomes necessary. A second glimpse into the light of divine knowledge that can only be seen through the eyes of a lover, one who seeks to reunite with its beloved; the intelligence; the source of intuition; the instinct that guides all living beings on this earth towards their true purpose and towards a true individuality which emanates directly from your soul. But the mind fiercely resists losing its exaggerated role in guiding your life, and holds firmly onto the fallacy of its omniscience and of its imagined sense of control. So there is discomfort; there is suffering…
However, you endure; you persist with steadfast patience and faith in the guiding voice of the intelligence. You embrace its call for love. The beauty and comforting feeling of love rekindles its flame and brings you back to the connection to the source which you then strive to solidify and maintain until the new life that is death welcomes you to the next journey that awaits you.