Approaches to Development and Poverty

Guiding Questions:

1. Explain how inequality in a developed country (the United States) is manifesting itself in the context of: 

   • racism

   • poverty

   • environmental devastation

   • a war economy

Viewing Questions:

1. Explain what is at the heart of meritocracy or the meritocratic ideal.

2. Why is meritocracy flawed?

3. Explain how Sandel argues we need to re-think civic life in the context of: 

   • the role of college

   • the dignity of work

   • the meaning of success

4. Why does Sandel argue that the role of luck and humility in success are key to the common good?

If you are interested in digging into Sandel's argument a little further, you might want to read this article.

Viewing Prompt: Divide your notes into four quadrants labelling each quadrant as follows:

1. Description of modernization theory (note both the rationale for the theory and the various aspects to it)

2. Criticisms of modernization theory

3. Description of dependency theory (note both the rationale for the theory and the various aspects to it)

4. Criticisms of dependency theory

Viewing Prompt: In this video, Professor Sens uses a diagram to explain dependency theory, however, it could be developed further to better incorporate his very good explanation of dependency theory. As you watch the video, using his diagram as a starting point, add to it to show your understanding of dependency theory more fully.

Guiding Questions (yes, you read this article in the exercise above but I'd like you to dig into the following questions to try to understand Sen's ideas a little more deeply):

1. Why do you think "human flourishing" is seen as a key component of the human development approach.

2. Why is Sen's approach seen as the opposite to post-development thinking (which is discussed in the next article)?

3. What, does Sen argue, is the cause of famine?

4. What important role does freedom play in development, according to Sen?

5. Distinguish between freedom as a right with freedom as capability.

6. Explain the clash between "freedoms on paper" with "unfreedoms".

Viewing Guide:

1. Dr. Tania Burchardt explains the capability approach and offers critiques of it in this lecture. As you watch the video divide your notes into three columns:

   • Describing the capability approach

   • Critiquing the capability approach

   • Responding to criticisms 

2. In your notes, capture her explanation of the Equality Measurement Framework that she and her colleagues have developed as a method for implementing the capability approach.

Guiding Questions:

1. How does Abed define ultra-poverty?

2. Why does the graduation approach focus primarily on women?

3. What is the four pronged approach to the graduation approach?

4. Who's help does BRAC need to expand the graduation approach globally?

Assessing the Graduation Approach:

Using this document and what you learned in the video, how do you think the modernization, dependency, capabilities and post development theories would view the graduation approach?

Guiding Questions:

1. What is Hickel's argument for why there is such massive inequality in our world today?

2. What two solutions does he offer?

Viewing Prompt:

Based on Arturo Escobar's lecture, how would you conceptualize post-development?

Both Jason Hickel and William MacAskill mention Esther Duflo and Jeffrey Sachs in the excerpts from their books that you read in the previous lesson and they are two of the foremost thinkers on development and poverty today. 

Viewing Guide:

1. As you watch the video (about 10 years old), divide your notes into two columns and list the causes of poverty in the first column and list the solutions both Sachs and Duflo discuss.

2. What development theory(ies) seem most consistent with the positions Sachs and Duflo take?

Guiding Questions:

1. Why do the author and economists argue that a standard poverty line or a living wage is not really possible?

2. While the Living Wage Calculator seems to be an improvement, what is still not included?

3. Is minimum wage as it currently looks in the United States enough to live on?

4. You can take a look at the differences highlighted by MIT here. You might experiment by looking at the living wages for a county in North Dakota as compared to New York City or Los Angeles.

Guiding Questions:

1. According to Bregman and the experiment in Dauphin, Manitoba, what are the benefits of UBI?

2. What is the argument in response to those who feel as though UBI is unaffordable? 

Guiding Questions:

1. Aside from UBI helping those living in poverty, as technology develops what might be another practical reason for introducing it?

2. Why does Hickel and, earlier, Thomas Paine argue that UBI might best be framed as a right or justice?

3. What are the criticisms of UBI and how might they be addressed?

4. Why might we argue that UBI is a particularly communitarian idea?

Guiding Questions:

1. What is Universal Basic Income (UBI)? 

2. Research some of the places it has been tried and the results of those experiments.

3. What are some of the criticisms of UBI. You might start here or here, though both articles ultimately see it as a good thing.

Guiding Questions:

1. Why do neoliberals warn against increased taxation, government regulation and wages?

2. What are the assumptions of neoliberal economic theory that Hanauer argues are incorrect and why does he argue they are incorrect?

3. What does he argue is the new way forward for capitalists (he notes five 'rules of thumb'? How might Marxist critics respond to this new way forward?

1. What is the 45 percent-1 percent disconnect?

2. Describe some of the easy ways in which hundreds of thousands of lives can be saved and global poverty addressed.