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Applied Ethics. Section 4 Development Ethics. Development. The process of moving away from the evils of low life-expectancy, poor health, low literacy & low productivity, through self-help & enhanced social justice. Alternatively….
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Applied Ethics Section 4 Development Ethics
Development • The process of moving away from the evils of low life-expectancy, poor health, low literacy & low productivity, through self-help & enhanced social justice.
Alternatively… • Development is the condition of a society which has largely attained more satisfactory levels, again through self-help & greater social justice.
Development Ethics • Studies the ethical & value questions posed by development theory, planning & practice. • Not all processes of development need to be approved by those who recognize them as ‘development’.
Harry Truman • Truman’s 1949 model of development has been criticised as anti-communist imperialism. • But his concepts of underdevelopment & development are indispensable.
Peter Singer • Singer’s 1972 argument for individual obligations to alleviate famine remains relevant. • But the issues need to be reconceived in terms of averting & preventing persistent malnutrition & promoting development.
David Crocker • Following Amartya Sen, Crocker interprets development as ‘a process of change that protects, restores, strengthens & expands people’s valued & valuable capabilities’ (see note 1 [last slide, this Section]).
Onora O’Neill • O’Neill has shown how Kantianism, whatever its defects, can underpin such an activist interpretation of development ethics.
Contractarianism • Rawlsian contractarianism has been developed by Brian Barry & Charles R. Beitz to apply to fairer rules for international relations. • Despite its shortcomings, contractarianism can thus play a part in development ethics.
The Concept of Sustainable Development The Brundtland Report (1987) • Defined ‘sustainable development’ as development that ‘meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’ (see note 2 [last slide, this Section]).
Sustainable Development • In the Brundtland Report, sustainable development is sustainable economically, socially & environmentally, & recognizes the intrinsic value of living creatures.
Other Interpretations • The endorsement of sustainable development at the Rio Summit (1992) led to sustainable development being interpreted to suit big business interests, & consequently being accused of meaning ‘business-as-usual’. • Yet it remains a defensible radical concept, to which almost all nations on Earth subscribe.
Millennium Development Goals • Internationally agreed in 2000. • Include the aim of halving extreme poverty by 2015. • But the prospects of most of the goals being met are slim. • They show, however, that large international programmes for achieving international development continue to be needed, as is individual support for them.
Notes • David Crocker, ‘Hunger, Capability and Development’, in W. Aiken and H. LaFollette (eds), World Hunger and Morality, 2nd edn., 1996, 211-230; reprinted in Des Gasper and Asuncion Lera St. Clair (eds), Development Ethics (Farnham, UK & Burlington, VT: 2010), pp. 383-402 [p. 410]. • World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), Our Common Future (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), p. 43.