Questioning the Idea of Development and the Institution of Work

The technologically developed societies of the industrialized West have been advocated as a role model for "less developed" societies. The societies of the industrialized West have also evolved vibrant democracies of varying sophistications. Indeed, diverse individuals in these societies, often take for granted so-to-speak, their evolved political civil rights, in comparison to many other societies. Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland and Canada are at the forefront of these "political democracies". However, the developed nature of Western Industrialized societies in the 'political realm', has by and large, not been as reflected in the 'economic realm'.

"Economic Globalization" has hastened a type of "democratic credibility gap", between the stated official political, and the effective economic 'modus operandi' of these societies. In other words, the Western Industrialized societies that have 'developed' politically, could also be viewed to be operating comparatively 'underdeveloped', in the economic realm. The simultaneous operation of a relative high level of sophisticated political development alongside reactionary economic development, is an apparent paradox within western Industrialized societies. Notwithstanding this paradox, discourse has continued to focus on the presented desirability for these so-called "developing" societies, to strive to achieve the "development" standards of the "advanced" West.

The reference to countries as being "developed" as compared to "developing" implicitly relies upon a premise of what constitutes "progress". Accordingly, the democracies of the industrialized West as recognized "developed" societies, and are represented as having achieved a more desirable progress, as compared to "developing societies". However, it can be legitimately argued that throughout history many societies with perhaps less extensively articulated political constitutional systems, have been more 'progressive', and accordingly, sophisticated in the "economic realm".

Societies which have been referred to (by somewhat perhaps "Eurocentric" scholars) as "traditional", have frequently been based upon an economic developmental paradigm of ecologically-sensitized sustainability. These societies have included the aboriginal civilizations in Canada, and the U.S., some ancient Kingdoms in Africa, and diverse other civilizations before European economic colonial interpenetration. "Traditional" societies operate on a great amount of accumulated wisdom on the organization of "economic society", that West has substantively ignored. This type of oversight has been done to the apparent peril of fostering a prospective economic sustainability in the West. The adoption of 'the market' model as the basis of achieving a "developed" economy, has evolved upon a context which has ignored the vital "quality of survival considerations", that have formed the critical basis of many sophisticated 'pre-European colonised' civilizations.

This editorial commentary was excerpted from the book entitled 'Capitalism is Not Democracy: Part I', ISBN: 1894934636.