The Paradox Of Wealth And Poverty: Mapping The Ethical Dilemmas Of Global Development

by Daniel Little

Book Overview

We live in a time of human paradoxes. Scientific knowledge has reached a level of sophistication that permits understanding of the most arcane phenomena and yet religious fundamentalism dominates in many parts of the world. We witness the emergence of a civil, liberal constitutionalism in many regions of the world and yet ethnic violence threatens the lives and dignity of millions. And we live in a time of rapid economic and technological advance...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0813316421
• ISBN13: 9780813316420
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive & easy read on Development Ethics

Synopsis:This monograph may be aptly called an introductory insight into the issues pertaining to development and its foundational ethics. In an effort to map the ethical dilemmas of global development, Daniel Little, starts with conceptualising the model of the person. The intrinsic importance of human well-being is asserted and eventually he identifies the basic needs and a normative set of requirements for substantial human capacity realization. Economic development is defined comprehensively along with a positive and normative focus on goals and strategies of development. Development is discussed within the realms of justice and human rights and the consequential importance of global economic development is highlighted as a means to achieve justice and foster human rights at a global level. Global trade, development aid and globalisation is examined to analyse the historic and current trends in dealing with the issue of international development and suggestions have been made to tailor these instruments to foster sustainable development for less developed countries. Little also focuses on the concern of environmental sustainability and compares the ethical issues at stake when the well being of future generations have to be factored into the calculus of economic development. Democracy and its institutional parameters are explored to elucidate the importance of political and social freedoms and its direct relevance to the issue of development. In conclusion, the idea of a global civil society is proposed to further Little's aspiration of practical utopia, which I assume is a hope that most of us would cherish.Critique:The importance of human well-being and the inherent significance of the person has been highlighted throughout the book and this recurring theme has been repeatedly used to further arguments. The average reader will recall Little's moral justification of the person as perhaps the most prominent theme of this monograph. Although the array of topics covered in this book are diverse ranging from justice to global trade and from environment to democracy, the author makes a genuine effort to focus on the context of global development and relate each issue discussed to the moral foreground of development ethics.The lucidity and simplicity of Little's writing style is perhaps the most focal forte of the book. This book may be deemed as a perfect read for an audience who may not be well versed with the development economics literature, as most technical terms or concepts used in the book have been defined before they are used in the analysis of the issue at hand. Applicable topics have been discussed with an optimal amount of depth in accordance with the scope of the readership. Little has aptly identified and illustrated the core issues that have significant relevance to the issue of development. On the other hand, at times certain arguments seem quite repetitive and as Little makes an effort to further his arguments in each chapter he