Development versus enjoyment of life: a post-development critique of the developmentalist worldview

Abstract

This article discusses the meaning of development from a post-development perspective, based on a case study of a goat-keeping project involving a small community of farmers from a rural town in north-east Brazil. The development project was fraught with conflicting views of development as it sought to impose an interventionist, ethnocentric, and modernist view of what was best for the community, even stipulating how the farmers should work together. The modernist interpretation has been criticised on various grounds, but nevertheless continues to condition how the ‘development industry’ defines its values and views its mission.

Keywords:

• Labour and Livelihoods
• Gender and Diversity
• Aid
• Latin America/Caribbean

Notes

1. The methodology used in this case study involved a range of approaches to data collection. I was given access to the official project documentation, which specifies all the information and details of the initiative, including the conditions and responsibilities that the project entailed. I was able to make site visits and had full access to the area. The opportunity to observe a meeting between the technicians and the farmers was particularly useful. The technician responsible for the project enabled me to interview a range of informants. This helped me to gather qualitative data from two technicians from the state development agency, and from members of the local farming community who were involved in the project.

2. In Brazil, I had the opportunity to present my case-study findings in a series of three seminars at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco. My findings have therefore been developed from the feedback given by those attending the seminars, including many technicians with experience of similar projects who are studying development economics and rural administration and communication. The technician responsible for the project also attended one of these seminars and so was able to make comments.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Joabe G. Cavalcanti

Joabe G. Cavalcanti is a doctoral student in Sociology at the London School of Economics, and Assistant Curate at Southwark Cathedral. He was previously leader of the Pernambuco Metropolitan Subway Workers' Union and co-ordinator of the Brazilian National Federation of Subway and Railway Workers.