Overdevelopment
Encyclopedia
Overdevelopment refers to a way of seeing global inequality that focuses on the negative consequences of excessive consumption. It exists as the mutually constitutive counterpart to the more commonly known concept of 'underdevelopment
'.
In mainstream development theory, the existence of 'underdeveloped' states, regions or cultures is seen as a problem that needs to be solved. States, regions, cultures and people are considered 'underdeveloped' in that they do not adhere to Eurocentric ideals of rationality, progress, and modernity that are associated with the Enlightenment
. In contrast, the framework of overdevelopment shifts the focus to the 'developed' countries of the global North, asking "questions about why excessive consumption amongst the affluent is not also seen foremost as an issue of development".
By questioning how and why uneven development is produced in the world, one can evaluate the global North’s role and responsibility as “overdevelopers” in producing global inequality. According to various surveys, consumption is seemingly not making people notably happy, but rather increasing the West's ecological footprint
. Overdevelopment has a huge impact on the environment, the social realm, human rights, and the global economy.
that is consistent with their higher consumption patterns rather than their absolute numbers."
can be said to play a role in why overdevelopment has been largely unconsidered due to the "almost exclusive focus on 'underdevelopment' and the underdeveloped world that has characterized development studies and associated disciplines for so long needs".
Mainstream development work aims at fighting poverty, sickness and crisis in 'underdeveloped' regions. This sentiment of "metropolitan responsibility for distant human suffering" is reminiscent of imperialist and colonials movements from Europe and North America as they "became entwined within global networks of exchange and exploitation in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries." This colonialst mindset frames the fixation with the Global North coming to the aid of 'distant others'. This view could be countered with an equal attentiveness to the problems of 'overdevelopment' and the overdeveloped world.
in the glob is to produce inequality. The two faces of capitalism are underdevelopment, occurring in the 'third world' and overdevelopment, occurring in Europe and North America. Acts of consumption of commodities take embody the overdeveloping form of capitalism in the global North. "Almost everything we now eat and drink, wear and use, listen to and hear, watch and learn come to us in commodity form and is shaped by divisions of labour, the pursuit of product niches and the general evolution of discourses and ideologies that embody precepts of capitalism. "Circular and cumulative causation within the economy then ensures that capital rich regions tend to grow richer while poor regions grow poorer."
movement, sustainable development
, anti-development and other local or indigenous resistance movements. One such method being put into place in different regions around the world is a population cap.
Indigenous movements such as the Aloha ʻAina movement and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
movement, often have their own concepts of development, overdevelopment, and sustainability
. Their versions of these concepts overlap with those of environmental activism, but differ in many important ways, many of which relate to the ideal interrelation of humans and environment in the particular places in question.
Underdevelopment
Underdevelopment is a term often used to refer to economic underdevelopment, symptoms of which include lack of access to job opportunities, health care, drinkable water, food, education and housing...
'.
In mainstream development theory, the existence of 'underdeveloped' states, regions or cultures is seen as a problem that needs to be solved. States, regions, cultures and people are considered 'underdeveloped' in that they do not adhere to Eurocentric ideals of rationality, progress, and modernity that are associated with the Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
. In contrast, the framework of overdevelopment shifts the focus to the 'developed' countries of the global North, asking "questions about why excessive consumption amongst the affluent is not also seen foremost as an issue of development".
By questioning how and why uneven development is produced in the world, one can evaluate the global North’s role and responsibility as “overdevelopers” in producing global inequality. According to various surveys, consumption is seemingly not making people notably happy, but rather increasing the West's ecological footprint
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
. Overdevelopment has a huge impact on the environment, the social realm, human rights, and the global economy.
Environmental implications
Excessive consumption causes negative environmental impacts in both 'overdeveloped' and 'underdeveloped' regions. "Findings indicate that there are significant differences across countries of the world in the consumption quality of life of its citizens. Using the HDI, which is composed of longevity, knowledge, and standard of living, data reveal that lives worsen from west to east, with the worst conditions in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, environmental damage estimates, as determined by the EDI composite developed specifically for this investigation, demonstrate that wealthier nations create environmental degradationEnvironmental degradation
Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife...
that is consistent with their higher consumption patterns rather than their absolute numbers."
Post Colonial
The legacy of colonialismColonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
can be said to play a role in why overdevelopment has been largely unconsidered due to the "almost exclusive focus on 'underdevelopment' and the underdeveloped world that has characterized development studies and associated disciplines for so long needs".
Mainstream development work aims at fighting poverty, sickness and crisis in 'underdeveloped' regions. This sentiment of "metropolitan responsibility for distant human suffering" is reminiscent of imperialist and colonials movements from Europe and North America as they "became entwined within global networks of exchange and exploitation in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries." This colonialst mindset frames the fixation with the Global North coming to the aid of 'distant others'. This view could be countered with an equal attentiveness to the problems of 'overdevelopment' and the overdeveloped world.
Marxist
Marxist work argues that an impact of capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
in the glob is to produce inequality. The two faces of capitalism are underdevelopment, occurring in the 'third world' and overdevelopment, occurring in Europe and North America. Acts of consumption of commodities take embody the overdeveloping form of capitalism in the global North. "Almost everything we now eat and drink, wear and use, listen to and hear, watch and learn come to us in commodity form and is shaped by divisions of labour, the pursuit of product niches and the general evolution of discourses and ideologies that embody precepts of capitalism. "Circular and cumulative causation within the economy then ensures that capital rich regions tend to grow richer while poor regions grow poorer."
Responses
Responses to overdevelopment include the de-growthDe-growth
Degrowth is a political, economic, and social movement based on environmentalist, anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist ideas...
movement, sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
, anti-development and other local or indigenous resistance movements. One such method being put into place in different regions around the world is a population cap.
Indigenous movements such as the Aloha ʻAina movement and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation
Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is a revolutionary leftist group based in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico....
movement, often have their own concepts of development, overdevelopment, and sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
. Their versions of these concepts overlap with those of environmental activism, but differ in many important ways, many of which relate to the ideal interrelation of humans and environment in the particular places in question.
External links
- International Development: Is There Any Role Model? by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
- Make Affluence History