What books tell us about poverty and development
Books and one’s personal experience can be a potent mix if you are trying to comprehend such complex concepts as poverty and development.
Poverty was something I had always taken for granted. My parents told me that we were poor and I just accepted that pronouncement matter-of-factly. Later on, I would realize that we were not exactly in dire straits compared to the other families in our barrio (the term barangay was not yet in vogue).
As I grew up, this realization became more pronounced, as I was exposed by then to multifarious situations not only in our barrio but also in other areas of the country where the faces of hunger, destitution and utter hopelessness haunted me in my dreams — and nightmares. In my adult years, I had numerous opportunities to work with entities dealing with poverty alleviation. My concept of poverty, in turn, broadened but not to the point of analyzing and dissecting it in a cold, detached fashion.
The conflicting points raised by Jeffrey Sachs in The End of Poverty and William Easterly in The White Man’s Burden ironically fired up my resolve to delve deeper into the profundities and underpinnings of poverty. While I was, at first, amazed (and somehow impressed) by the simplicity of Sachs’s prescription to end poverty, it gradually dawned on me that such was not the case, especially in light of Easterly’s contention, fully backed up by empirical data, that supposed aid given by rich nations to their poor counterparts seems to have exacerbated the already miserable and convoluted situation.
My position was further affirmed and validated by the various experiences I studied and evaluated. The introduction of poverty indicators and indices along with the profiling schemes did open up wide avenues for me to view more objectively what it was like to be poor. Paulo Freire’s expostulations on education in The Pedagogy of the Oppressed gave me additional insights into how education (which is usually thought of as the “great equalizer”) can actually “enslave” instead of empowering and liberating people. Freire’s contentions, specifically the “banking education” concept, find resonance in our educational system — buttressing, in the process, Renato Constantino’s assertion that generations of Filipinos had been (and are still being) miseducated.
Yet, there had to be some solutions somewhere. In due time, I segued into the idea of development, taking note of the theories, practices, traditions and narratives, among others. For me, after reading such books, development assumed an entirely different dimension, especially when viewed and filtered through the prisms of the so-called conservative tradition that subsumed the theories of economic growth and modernization. I gained some insight into what really propelled development, including its origins and drivers, as I focused on the development narratives of modernization, conflict, reform/cross-over to transition economies, emergence of civil society, corporate social responsibility, and communitarianism.
Naga City in Bicol has long institutionalized engagements with non-government organizations, people’s organizations and the private sector. Indeed, I agree with the conclusion made by a researcher that there has been a focus on “the increasing capacity of governments, private sector and NGOs to pursue development goals.” But then, our decades–long partnerships with these groups need to be assessed, specifically in the context of their impact on the city, in general, and the individual resident, in particular.
By and large, Naga City is steeped in the principles and nuances of tripartism. Its so-called good governance model, crafted by the late former City Mayor and Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Jesse M. Robredo, has partnership and participation as key components along with progressive perspective. Its award–winning initiatives, on the other hand, are mostly anchored on the participatory system of local governance. Nevertheless, hitches and stumbling blocks are bound to crop up. Unless immediately addressed, they can very well undermine the gains achieved thus far.
In a way, Naga City, within a quarter of a century, underwent the phases of modernization, conflict (with our political adversaries espousing alternative modes of local economic development), and the emergence and full participation of non-government and people’s organizations in the affairs of the local government buttressed, as it were, by ordinances and executive orders. With the innovative programs and projects firmly in place, Naga City was poised to take the lead in local governance well into the new millennium.
Given this sweeping view of development and applying it to the current Philippine scenario, I believe there is a need to overhaul the system. Be that as it may, I must confess that I still have to gain a full grasp of development management and its permutations or themes — management of development, development of management, management in development, and management for development, the last being the apotheosis for, as UP professor Sony Querijero pointed out, its “enabling and empowering mode to achieve development goals for the relatively powerless” (a veritable antidote to the proliferation of poverty). Moreover, I agree that development management is a work in progress, “constantly looking for and adopting strategies and approaches to make it more responsive to the needs of the ever-changing environment.”
Indeed, one can conclude that the road to development is not exactly a well paved one. Considering the various perspectives and theories of economic growth, you have to contend with figurative potholes, detours and occasional precipices which can make your journey into the realm of development rather unpredictable — and precarious.
This Week’s Winner
Gabriel Hidalgo Bordado is now on his third and final term as vice mayor of Naga City in Bicol. He was the vice mayor of the late Secretary Jesse M. Robredo from 2004 up to 2010. He is completing his master’s in development management and governance at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños College of Public Affairs and Development.
