Message-ID: <970104184352_439411458@emout14.mail.aol.com> Date: Sat, 4 Jan 1997 18:43:54 -0500 From: mailto:EUNSteve@AOL.COM> Subject: Re: pushing development--or pushing the status quo? To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Brett Diamond is quite right in insisting that any paraphrase of his message be close to the spirit of his original.Here is the contested paraphrase:
<< If Brett is right, and anthropology students believe their discipline > demonstrates that illiterates might be better off without the alphabet,
why > fund and staff literacy programs?>>
Brett came back with:
<<You are twisting my words to suit your own ends. I never said that people would "be better off" without the alphabet, I merely stated that literacy in and of itself will not solve the problems facing many third world cultures.>>
I apologize if I had Brett wrong. His exact words were:
<<As an Anthropologist (in training) I would argue that teaching the illiterate to read is not always the best course of action. >>
I find nothing here or elsewhere that that supports Brett's paraphrase of his original statement, nor do I think I seriously distorted his position on literacy.
What is important is not our differences, nor Brett's request for my credentials for disagreeing with him, but the story of Western ignorance, insensitivity, and evil that he insists on telling over and over again.
<<Secondly, there is seldom a need to create "schools" within indigenous cultures for they are quite adept at teaching their children what they need to learn albeit in a non-western way. No, they don't teach algebra, but then most of their kids don't need to learn algebra in order to be a valuable component of their society. Time and time again our efforts to "better" the lives of indigenous peoples fail miserably as we hold our own systems in such high regard that we truly believe that we need to "help" native peoples break free from "savagery.">>
[omission]
What will help these peoples is when the industrialized nations stop mining these countries for cheap natural resources and labor. Teaching a sub-saharan bushman snowmobile maintainance is not likely to be of any real benefit, nor is teaching a landless, starving, peasant farmer how to read going to be of any real benefit--we should focus on why he/she is starving and landless, no? >>
This story of Western duplicity looting and despoiling was old and somewhat tired before the novel and the movie The Ugly American made it a worldwide cliche.
>
> If even the professionals in the development community believe that our
work > abroad destroys indigenous cultures and foists market economies and
factory > work styles and capitalism on peoples who are better off without them--why
> spend our tax funds on such efforts?
For three reasons. A) it makes us feel good to think that we're helping, which B) offsets (in our minds) the guilt the industrialized nations have from representing 15% of the world's population, yet consuming 80% of the world's resources. Perhaps Dr. Eskow, you could explian to us how the world could support 6 billion middle class citizens? We need to focus more energy on lowering our standards of living rather than raising that of others. Lastly, capitalists need a return on their capital, and an ever-increasing cutomer base to whom they can hawk their wares. World Bank funding provides interest dividends to bankers, who in turn provide ever-more consumers to the marketplace, (via the destruction of cultural sovereignty) all in the name of profit. >>
Perhaps as recently as 75 years ago there were Americans of goodwill and charity who wanted to help release the "savages" from their bonds.I have known and worked with many in government and nonprofit development, and have never--not once--met anyone so engaged who used the language of "savages" or thought the thoughts Mr. Diamond ascribes to them.
I have, however, met and encountered hundreds of "rebels" here and abroad--often Marxists of the "pedagogy of the oppressed" school of liberation theology--who tell and retell the story of Western evil in the same tones and with the same kinds of examples Mr. Diamond uses.
I personally drive an auto, have an air conditioner, go to the shopping mall and buy hamburgers, and in general consume far more than my per capita share of the world's resources.
In all probability so does Mr Diamond: in my experience very few of the advocates of sustainable life styles and cashless economies choose to leave their US lifestyles.
The only way I can think of to avoid the hypocrisy of preaching what I don't practice is to offer to teach what I know--if I am asked to do so--and in many cases that means helping those without cash learn how to earn some.
Steve Eskow
Dr. Steve Eskow, President The Electronic University Network 288 Stone Island Road Enterprise, FL 32725 407.321.8770;Fax:407.321.4861 January 4, 1997