Every development is a change, but every change is not a development.
The world we see today has come a long way and has gone through many changes.
The idea of making life better and developing the world in the name of the
greater common good is termed as “progress”. It is the concept that all the
under developed countries should follow the footsteps of the developed
countries by hook or crook to make their societies better and acceptable to the
world. Progress for non-western nations is the act of being lead to the
standards set by the west, and for the west it is the introducing of new ways
and inventing of new goods so that other countries always look forward to them.
Progress is what runs the world, and it is an ongoing process. The plan of
modernity is so successful today because it has used progress as its pillar. It
is a human urge to get to a better place with every second passing, but how
much humane is involved in the process of progress is another cup of tea. As sweet
the name of progress sounds, it also has been very violent to many people on
its course. The aim of progress has been handed over to science, technology,
democracy, hygiene, better agriculture, economic growth etc.
In the colonial
era, many people were displaced of their homes and expropriation of agricultural
population happened in the name of development. Still progress was not a major politics
till the end of 19th century when most of the countries we know today were
under western colonies and when it was famous that “The sun never sets on the British
Empire”. Till then progress was just a name of running a house and its
different portions, and it also included moral and ethical values. In the late
19th century, the colonies started to detach and became independent
states. It was then that the term “progress” was focused and twisted in order
to keep the newly born states still under control by the west in various ways. During
the Cold War after World War II, the world was divided into three segments
namely: The Capitalist Western (First World), Communist Soviet (Second World)
and all postcolonial nations as Third World. This division was important for
the progress to happen. Philip McMichael explains this on page No 46 of article
“Instituting the Development Project” (2011): “In other words, the proclamation
by President Truman divided the world between those who were modern and those
who were not. Development/ Modernity became the discursive benchmark. This was
a way of looking at the world, a new paradigm, suggesting that the ex-colonial
world was not only backward, but could also develop, with help.” This was how a
transition was made in the notions of progress. The third world was at the
first step of the ladder and it had to follow the first world up the ladder to
be progressed.
One important
thing which contributed to making progress mandatory was the problematization
of poverty. The third world countries were psychologically made ‘the poor’, and
it was imposed on them that they can progress only if they develop their
economy by capital investment. “Only through material advancement could social,
cultural, and political progress be achieved. This view determined the belief
that capital investment was the most important ingredient in economic growth
and development. The advance of poor countries was thus seen from the outset as
depending on ample supplies of capital to provide for infrastructure,
industrialization, and the overall modernization of the society.” (Arturo
Escobar, The Problematization of Poverty (1995), Page No 82). The issue with
this was that the capital had to come from abroad in exchange for the valuable
raw materials the developed countries desired. Again, all the good part went to
the side of the west where they definitely used the third world’s raw materials
and products for their own further progress. Did the poor countries make any
progress in this whole process? I will leave the answer to those same
underdeveloped countries where the developed countries are still working in the
name of almighty progress.
Agriculture was
the main asset of the original affluent society, but with the passage of time different
changes occurred in agriculture, like the green revolution which was expected
to bring progress. These plans for progress had many negative impacts like monoculture
crop, pesticides etc. Gradually, industrialization and mechanization were
preferred over agriculture to progress. It is discussed in our Pakistan studies
books with disgrace that Pakistan is still
an agricultural country. This whole shift is destroying the natural
resources and the mother earth with increasing wastes, pollution and resource
over use. “There were many indicators that the Industrial Revolution propelled
the world human population into an era of living and production at the ultimate expense of the human condition. It also impacted
the resources that had been taken for granted for the entire prior history of
humankind.” *[1]
No doubt, the
backbone of progress is the advent of technology. It has always been considered
that only those nations are progressed that have the updated technology. As we
discussed in section that the United States claimed to champion modernization
or technology because she believed that the United States herself has developed
through technology. It was like “been there, done that” and then they were
leading other countries towards progress. “Despite some misgivings about the
war’s indecisive outcome, it strengthens their conviction that they (U.S.A)
were a people destined by virtue of their scientific and technological prowess
to shape the development of less fortunate societies.” (Michael Adas (1990), “Modernization
Theory and the Revival of the Technological Standard”, Page No 408). It can be
observed again that how progress has been a way of making other countries
follow the west up the ladder and buy their products to be in the race. It is
important to note that progress demands constant revolutionizing of products and
that is how the bourgeoisie continue their existence. We see the new version of
smart phones appearing after every few months with some progressed features.
The term “progress” again gets our attention and drags us to modernity. That is
why we have the latest version of iphones, laptops etc because we want to go
with the flow. But as we discussed in section, do we really need a slightly
changed bulb or phone every other month?
Indeed the progress caused by
technology and the progress in technology has many good aspects to it. I am
writing this paper on my laptop by looking for more information on the internet
or asking things from my friends via Whatsapp or Skype and listening to trance
music. This progress has made many things handy and easy for us which were not
possible several years ago, but has it achieved the aim of making lives better?
Nokia, connecting people, is a nice way of advertising but does it really do
what it aims to? All my roommates have Nokia phones and we do not talk during
dinner or when we are sitting together because everybody is busy texting some
imaginary person in mind and ignore the real person sitting next to him. This
is a minor example of how technology has created gap between humans and has
depleted healthy activities from the society. Progress has many blessings, but
has also caused entropy in human life. As Akbar Ala Abadi puts very clearly:
لاکھوں کو ڈبو کر ہزاروں کو جو ابھارے
Bibliography
1.
Philip McMichael “Instituting the Development Project”
in Development and Social Change: A Global
Perspective, page No 46.
2.
Arturo Escobar, “The Problematization of Poverty: The
Tale of Three Worlds and Development (1995) in Development: A Cultural Studies Reader” Page No 82.
3.
Michael Adas, “Modernization Theory and the Revival of
the Technological Standard” in Machines
as the Measure of Men, Page No 408.
4.
http://www.ecology.com/2011/09/18/ecological-impact-industrial-revolution/
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