This article is part of ourEconomy's 'Decolonising the economy' series.
The current planetary crisis has taken on a civilizational dimension. Never before have so many crucial aspects of life failed simultaneously, and never before have expectations about the future been so uncertain. Environmental problems can no longer be concealed, no matter how powerful the deniers. It is also impossible to hide the huge global socio-economic inequalities which grow as “development” sweeps across the world like a mutant virus. This crisis can be seen and felt in all domains: environmental, economic, social, political, ethical, cultural, and spiritual. Ironically, these crises are fed on by right-wing forces to gain support from the marginalized, with false but alluring images of how ‘the other’ is stealing away ‘our’ jobs and resources and happiness. As a consequence, violence and repression engulfs the democratic process.
Ending the pursuit of “development” isn’t easy; its seductive logic is widely internalized. Societies of the Global North, now suffering the effects of industrial growth, were the first to accept the gospel of a single path to progress. The South emulates the North, captivated by its dazzling lifestyles in a seemingly unstoppable course that brings ever more social and environmental problems. Seven decades after the concept of "development" erupted on to the scene, the entire world is mired in “maldevelopment.”
