Third world or global south? Pro-poor or pro-wealth? The term ‘development’ is a minefield that eclipses the real issues
The idea of "development" can still conjure up romantic visions among some about helping to improve the lives of people in the "third world" through sheer goodwill. Yet we hold on to the term and defend it.
We also hold on to the UK’s Department for International Development or the millennium development goals or, indeed, Guardian global development like an uncle: worthy and charming, if occasionally drunk at inappropriate moments, that, as a family, we hastily brush under the carpet and hope nobody notices.
But for many working in the sector, the term that is used to describe our work provokes reactions ranging from a mild cringe to pure antagonism. A recent animated video from Survival International perfectly describes what’s wrong with development. It has for years been peppered with misguided projects that failed poor people. Phrases such as "sustainable development" have done little to improve the status quo.
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