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Third
World
countries are underdeveloped by Josue de Castro
"Underdevelopment
is not lack of or insufficient development, as many people tend to
think. It is a product or subproduct of development. Underdevelopment
derives inevitably from the colonial or neo-colonial forms of economical
exploitation which still imposes itself in many regions of our
planet." Underdevelopment is not the lack of
development. It is the result of an ill-guided kind of universal
development. It is the abusive concentration of income - specially
during this historic period dominated by capitalist neo-colonialism,
which is responsible for much of the underdevelopment in the world
today: the regions that are direct political or economical colonies Underdevelopment is a product of misuse
of natural and human resources which will forcibly deviate regions from
economical expansion and avoid social changes needed to join human
groups in a integrated economical system. Underdevelopment and hunger
can only be eliminated from the face of earth through a global
development strategy which will mobilize production means in the
interest of the community. One of the greatest mistakes was to
consider that the process of development everywhere should be equal to
the model of the rich western countries. A sort of ethnocentrism made
development scholars base their theories on classic economy, which
ignored regions with different social-economical realities from those of
western capitalist economies; ignored a growing socialist economy and a
supply and sales network every else in the world. Whatever remained, was
left to sociologists and folklorists. These immense social differences
between people divide the world economically in two: the rich world and
the poor world; the world of well developed and industrialized countries
and the world of the proletariat and underdeveloped countries. This
economical gap splits humanity in two groups that are unable to
understand each other: the group that doesn't eat, made of two-thirds of
the world's population and that lives in the underdeveloped areas and
the group made of the remaining one third, in the rich countries, that
doesn't sleep, afraid of the uprising of the hungry. One of the most constant and permanent
facts of the terrible social tension predominating nowadays is
economical unbalance with its many consequences of social injustice. One
of the greatest threats to world peace is the economical difference
between economically well developed countries on one side and
insufficiently developed countries on the other. This discrepancy
becomes greater each day, intensifying social unconformity, giving way
to restlessness and uneasiness and promoting political and ideological
conflict. Underdevelopment is not exclusive to
these countries: it is an universal matter which can only be solved with
universal solutions. To live in wealth while two thirds of the world are
plunged in misery is not just dangerous - it is a crime! The social
tension experienced today is mostly a result of social injustice, for
the dominated people became aware of the social-economical reality of
the world. We are living through a special period in human history. A
period of explosive changes, where the psychological explosion of the
exploited population is almost as dangerous as an atomic explosion. It is pressing that a new economical
balance be established in the world, for the gap has to be closed.
Without this, it will be very difficult to reach a true and reassuring
peace among men. There is no other international task as hard, but on
the other hand there is nothing as promising for the world's future then
the economical development of the areas where geographical and natural
resources are relatively unexploited. More then ever world peace depends on
economical balance. Social security is more important then arms-based
national security. Development cannot be assessed only on
the basis of expansion of material wealth or economical growth.
Development also means a succession of deep social changes which should
inevitably accompany the technological transformations. The concept of
development is not merely quantitative. It includes qualitative features
of the human groups touched by it. To grow is one thing; to develop is
quite another. In more general terms, growth is easier. To develop in a
balanced way is much harder. A very common question is if
development means becoming less human. The formula championed by the
western economies is to maximize profits through a frantic search for
wealth, but maximizing mental power would enrich and enlighten the life
of men faster then anything else. The developmental issue in Underdevelopment is a kind of
uneducation. Uneducation not only of the The development contradictions are
many. Development means mutation and discipline at the same time. But
discipline will often jeopardize mutation. Societies that reached high
degrees of development take conservatism as the ideal models upon which
other societies should base themselves, thus stagnating the will to
change. To face the aspects of the fight
against underdevelopment in isolation seems outdated, for the
traditional formulas, the isolated measures and the limited concessions
do not suffice. The seriousness of the problem requires the approval of
urgent global and convergent strategies on the part of developed
countries as well as by those undergoing development. There is only one true development: the
development of man. Man as an agent for development; man as a
beneficiary of development. Human brain is the producer of development.
It is the life of man that will blossom through the use of products made
available through development.
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