Riddle of development
Sri Lanka has graduated into a middle income country, says the World Bank. The same tale is repeated loudly by our leaders with a certain degree of pride. Yet how much the man in the street feels it is a moot question for with all this graduation or promotion the gap between the haves and the have nots has widened. There are hundreds of thousands on the on the list of Samurdhi beneficiaries.
The criteria for such elevation is the gross domestic Product per capita, a tangible material absolute quantity. Now absolute figures are clever at concealing reality or painting things in a rosier hue than the natural. For example look at the following figures: More than fifty years ago in 1963 Sri Lanka’s GDP was US $ 117.31 whereas it stood at US $ 3,279.89 in 2013. However, the income gap between the rich and the poor remained almost unchanged or worsened slightly during this half a century. In 1963 the richest 20 percent of the households received 52.3 percent of the national income while in 2013 the figure had increased to 53.5 percent. In the same time the poorest 20 percent had their share of the national income marginally reduced to 4.4 percent from 4.5 percent. Thus the growth of the GDP had not made any change in the lives of the poor.
The GDP is thus not a reliable index of development if one consider human development in toto. Former Indian President Abdul Kalam understood the concept of development more broadly. He wrote: “.. . it does not make sense to achieve a ‘developed’ status without a major and continuing uplift of all Indians who exist today and of the many more millions who would be added in the years to come’. What he said of India is also true of Sri Lanka.
From the foregoing it is clear that one should have a holistic approach to development instead of a mere economic or political economic one. The ultimate benefactor of development should be ‘man’ and it is this human aspect that should be at the centre of attraction. Hence social development, particularly development of health and education plays a vital role in such an approach. It should not be forgotten that access to basic health and education constitute a fundamental human right.
Man does not live by bread alone, it is said. Hence questions of people’s happiness, democracy and freedom too matter in development. Of particular importance is the enhancement of the cultural level of the population. Though we boast of a high literacy rate, in today’s context functional and emotional literacy occupies a greater weight. These areas requiring urgent development.
Cultural development also includes among others the development of wholesome ethical and moral standards among the population. In view of the degenerating discipline and the proliferation of crime the importance of this factor cannot be exaggerated. Considering our history of communal strife and war development should have as a concomitant the development of national unity and cohesion in a spirit of fraternal relations among diverse ethnic and religious communities.
Social development under capitalism has been plagued with the wanton destruction and depletion of natural resources, the destruction of the ozone layer protecting the earth from ultra-violet rays, adverse climatic changes, the interference with the ecological balance of our planet thus causing the extinction of many species of flora and fauna and endangering the very existence of the species man too. We have already seen how much damage has been done in our own country due to environmental destruction and degradation caused by human folly.
Holistic approach to development, nevertheless does not undermine the pivotal role of economic development. Nor should it ignore the macro-economic and micro-economic realities faced by the country in the context of the historic transformations brought about by modern globalization.
In this context the need to rely on advanced technology including bio-technology and nano-technology cannot be over-emphasized. The latter technologies offers us the possibility of overcoming the technology gap that separates us from the developed world. Unless we attain a higher technological level at least in a few key areas of production our goods will not be able to compete in the international market. It is the only way of overcoming the unequal exchange we developing countries are faced with in the global market.
This requires a commitment to an independent development of our economy. Though foreign capital is welcome its entry into strategic areas should not undermine national security or interests of the local population. It should also be underlined that Sri Lanka should pursue a development model of its own instead of trying to imitate Singapore or Korea or any other country. In this context one should be wary of one-size-fits-all prescriptions handed out by international financial agencies and institutions. Experience of East Asia and other regions of the world has already demonstrated that it is those countries that did not blindly follow those prescriptions that succeeded in attaining development faster and earlier than those that faithfully offered their independence as a tribute at the altars of the Gods of international capital.