engleski

Development, Growth and Progress in the Context of Global Culture of Neoliberal Capitalism

Contemporary culture of capitalism is ground on the premise of growth without limits. In fact, economic growth is the very essence of global neoliberal capitalism, and as a rule, this means increased consumption. „Consumerism“ is therefore the dominant element in the ideology of the global system. At the same time, the market shapes not only our image of human nature, but also the human reality within its grasp. All these raises many troubling questions as about the nature of the actual neoliberal model of capitalism so too about the concept of development and the relation between development, growth and progress. The notion of development is not neutral. It has a very precise context within a progressive ideology rooted in notions of history, economics, society and human being himself. For many years „development“ has been utilized within a colonizing vision, according to which the world's countries were divided under the matrix of „developed“, „developing“ and „underdeveloped“. The criteria of that classification have been based on the standards of industrialization and consumption in each country. In this way, the goals of development have been imposed by the neo-colonialist economic policies of the so-called „developed“ countries, resulting, in many cases in a vast increase of misery, unemployment and violence. Moreover, the notion of progress has increasingly come to be equated with economic progress, while its other aspects were ignored. Progress has thus been reduced to quantitative growth, and the quantifiable indicators of growth have become indicators of progress. The author consider that development must be conceived in a more anthropological and less economic-centric form. Thus, the domineering neo-liberal ideology of global laissez-faire based on the market and on uncontrollable consumption is in collision with permament and vital human needs, particularly the needs for security and sociocultural identity. The project of the global free market does not represent a model of natural development rooted in particular society. On the contrary, it hinders the legitimate forms of development suited to the traditions and needs of particular societies and cultures.

development; growth; progress; neoliberal capitalism

nije evidentirano