Lesson plan
Orthodox Development
The Orthodox Development view equates economic growth with 'development'. The gross national product of a country has continually been used by intergovernmental organisations such as the UN, to equate their economical stance to their level of 'development'. This approach to human progress has been critiqued consistently throughout its history, especially by economists such as Dambisa Moyo, with the main criticisms being that the approach is ethnocentric and one-dimensional. During the 1950s and 1960s as decolonisation progressed, the focus of the World Bank and the UN system generally shifted to the perceived needs of developing countries. There was widespread belief in the developed Western countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, among the managers of the major multilateral institutions, such as the European Union, and throughout the UN system, that 'Third World' states were economically 'backward' and needed to be 'developed'. This process would require intervention in their economies. This attitude is now widely opposed by a number of African economists, such as James Shikwati, who claims aid (and intervention in African states) does more harm than good. "The underlying assumption was that the Western lifestyle and mode of economic organisation were superior and should be universally aspired to." This became known as the Orthodox view of development.
Article summary
The Orthodox Development view equates economic growth with 'development'. The gross national product of a country has continually been used by intergovernmental organisations such as the UN, to equate their economical stance to their level of 'development'. This approach to human progress has been critiqued consistently throughout its history, especially by economists such as Dambisa Moyo, with the main criticisms being that the approach is ethnocentric and one-dimensional. During the 1950s and 1960s as decolonisation progressed, the focus of the World Bank and the UN system generally shifted to the perceived needs of developing countries. There was widespread belief in the developed Western countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, among the managers of the major multilateral institutions, such as the European Union, and throughout the UN system, that 'Third World' states were economically 'backward' and needed to be 'developed'. This process would require intervention in their economies. This attitude is now widely opposed by a number of African economists, such as James Shikwati, who claims aid (and intervention in African states) does more harm than good. "The underlying assumption was that the Western lifestyle and mode of economic organisation were superior and should be universally aspired to." This became known as the Orthodox view of development.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.