Write 5 pages thesis on the topic meaning of post-development by escobar. Alternative development thinkers have influenced the notion of development to a level up to which development discourse is bec

Write 5 pages thesis on the topic meaning of post-development by escobar. Alternative development thinkers have influenced the notion of development to a level up to which development discourse is becoming more reflexive and less modernist. This has led to the emergence of alternate development views such as post-development. The post-development perspective was put forward by Arturo Escobar, who criticized the development practice and theory heavily. Subsequently, Arturo Escobar calls for a development alternative. As such, the paper will evaluate and analyze the meaning of post-development as implied by Escobar. Additionally, post-development solutions to local and global social issues will be highlighted in the paper. Moreover, Bornstein’s (2001) article Child sponsorship, evangelism, and belonging in the work of World Vision Zimbabwe will be incorporated into the analysis.

Development was initially initiated and advocated by American president Truman, who in his inaugural address stated that foreign countries, especially those deemed to be underdeveloped would need aid in order to boost their living standards and industrial progress. From this perspective, development was viewed as a model/ concept that would help underdeveloped nations to advance. Arturo Escobar in Imagining a Post-Development Era, Critical Thought, Development, and Social Movement describes the elements behind the development discourse. The dominant development discourse is determined by western ideas of progress and modernization which leads to the creation of a third world characterized by needy and disadvantaged populations (Escobar 22). As such, post-development according to Escobar is the view that development is a western hegemony over the world.

To aid the progress of the underdeveloped nation and modernize, the dominant development discourse suggests the help of the developed /first world nations (nations which define progress and modernity and thus have the capability to ‘aid’ underdeveloped countries).