which has been in our Introduction, this is the fi rst ‘knowledge foundation’ or ‘the focus or domain
of study’.
In this introduction we discuss the opening quotations to this chapter in order to
‘set the scene’. The writers who have been cited are, of course, not unique in addressing
the meaning of development, but the selections have been made in order to
introduce the reader to the wide range of perspectives which exists.
It would be an understatement to say that the defi nition of ‘development’ has been
controversial and unstable over time. As Thomas (2004: 1) argues, development is
‘contested, … complex, and ambiguous’. Gore (2000: 794–5) notes that in the 1950s
and 1960s a ‘vision of the liberation of people and peoples’ dominated, based on
‘structural transformation’. This perception has tended to ‘slip from view’ for many
contributors to the development literature. A second perspective is the defi nition
embraced by international development donor agencies that Thomas notes. This is a
defi nition of development which is directly related to the achievement of poverty
reduction and of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
There is a third perspective from a group of writers that Hickey and Mohan (2003:
38) broadly identify as ‘post-modernists’.2 The ‘post-modern’ position is that ‘development’
is a ‘discourse’ (a set of ideas) that actually shapes and frames ‘reality’ and
power relations. It does this because the ‘discourse’ values certain things over others.
For example, those who do not have economic assets are viewed as ‘inferior’ from
a materialistic viewpoint. In terms of ‘real development’ there might be a new
‘discourse’ based on ‘alternative value systems’ which place a much higher value on
spiritual or cultural assets, and within which those without signifi cant economic
assets would be regarded as having signifi cant wealth.
There is, not surprisingly, considerable confusion over the wide range of divergent
conceptualizations, as Cowen and Shenton (1998: 50) argue. They differentiate
between immanent (unintentional or underlying processes of) development such as
the development of capitalism, and imminent (intentional or ‘willed’) development
such as the deliberate process to ‘develop’ the ‘Third World’ which began after World
War II as much of it emerged from colonization.
A common theme within most defi nitions is that ‘development’ encompasses
‘change’ in a variety of aspects of the human condition. Indeed, one of the simplest
defi nitions of ‘development’ is probably Chambers’ (2004: iii, 2–3) notion of ‘good
change’, although this raises all sorts of questions about what is ‘good’ and what sort
of ‘change’ matters (as Chambers acknowledges), about the role of values, and
whether ‘bad change’ is also viewed as a form of development.
Although the theme of ‘change’ may be overriding, what constitutes ‘good change’
is bound to be contested as Kanbur (2006: 5) states, because ‘there is no uniform or
unique answer’. Views that may be prevalent in one part of the development community
are not necessarily shared by other parts of that community, or in society
more widely.
In this chapter we discuss these issues and we seek to accommodate the diversity
of meanings and interpretations of ‘development’. In Section 2 we critically review
differing defi nitions of ‘development’. In Section 3 we ask what different defi nitionsoutlined
assets would be regarded as having signifi cant wealth.
reduction and of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).