hegemony
The ideas of those in power come to be seen as the norm; they are seen as universal, perceived to benefit everyone
what is the traditional definition of development
A rise in real income per person
The process of raising the level of prosperity and material living in a society through increasing the productivity and efficiency of its economy
Sustained increase in the economic standard of living of a country’s population
What is Amartya Sen’s definition of development?
Development ≠ growth. It is positive and negative freedom (political and economic freedoms and freedoms from want and fear)
What does Sen mean when he talks about freedom?
1) political and civil liberties
2) economic opportunities
4) transparency of governance
3) social opportunities
5) protective security (social safety net)
T/F: growth is always correlated with life expectancy
False!
What is political ecology?
Research that studies links between social and environmental processes with explicit consideration of power relations.
What are the 4 theses of political ecology?
- Degradation and marginalization. Indigeneous, sustainable production systems, when hooked up to markets, can intensify beyond sustainable limits.
- Privatizing collective resources can cause conflict.
- States and markets can often undermine local knowledge about sustainable production.
- Changing environmental conditions lead to change in human subjectivities.
- Environmental change creates opportunities for new environmentally based social movements.
What is the eco-scarcity paradigm?
”limits to growth” paradigm – population growth is the primary cause of ecological crises
What is the eco-modernization paradigm?
application of western technologies, and attaching market values to all resources can solve ecological crises.
According to Vandana Shiva, how did industrialization change our view of resources?
he meaning of “resources” shifted with industrialization. Instead of being “lively, sacred, and held in common” we began to see them as dead and to think of them instrumentally as inputs for industrial projects. We responded to scarcity by seeking technological solutions.
The new Atlantis–> “desacralization” of nature: using nature as a tool
What re the main arguments introduced in the Club of Rome?
- If present growth trends continue, the limits to growth on this planet will be reached within 100 years.
- It is possible to alter these trends and to establish a condition of economic and ecological stability.
What is the Brundtland Commission Definition of Sustainability
- the capacity to endure
* The ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the future
what is a commodity?
something with both use value and exchange value
What three things are fictitious commodities?
Labor, Land, and Money
We can sell these things, but land and labor are embedded in social life, have larger purpose and significance, and cannot fully be alienated or transferred.
What is accumulation by dispossession
Beginning in the 1970s, “owners of capital”—industrialists and others—had lots of capital but nowhere to put it. There were very few places to invest to earn a profit. In response, many companies sought to “open up” arenas that were formerly off-limits to investment, either •because they didn’t formerly have market value or •because they were public or commonly held resources
what is the difference between GDP and GNP?
GDP counts everything produced in a country even if produced by foreign-owned companies. GNP counts everything produced by a country’s nationals even if produced outside the borders. So as Ellwood points out, A Canadian factory in the US would be part of Canada’s GNP and US GDP.
What is included in the HDI?
- Life expectancy at birth, as an index of population health and longevity.
- Knowledge and education, as measured by the adult literacy rate and the combined primary, secondary, and tertiary school enrollment.
- Standard of living, as measured by GDP per capita.
What is a colony of settlement?
where the colonial power sent large numbers of migrants to the conquered nation where the settlers farm, mine or set up industry. [Exs: Spanish America, Australia, Canada, U.S., South Africa]
What is a colony of rule?
where the colonial power put in place an administration to arrange for the extraction of resources and to organize local people to work on colonial projects, but where there were fewer migrants from the colonial power to the colony. [Exs: most of Africa]
What were some ways that colonialism destroyed pre-colonial communities?
- Depopulation
- Siphoning of of labor for colonial projects
- Prohibiting local religious traditions
- Banning local kinship practices
- Imposing private property (over communal forms)
- Disrupting local customs governing food production and distribution
- Changing gender relations
- Shifting from regenerative production practices to treating “nature as raw material” (V. Shiva)
What is mercantilism?
Government should maximize the benefits of trade through protectionism—setting tariffs in ways that maximize its own benefit
What is dependency theory?
The idea that the colonial division of labor laid down a pattern of international relationships that privileged some nations and let others vulnerable, and that vulnerable nations need to take actions to remediate the situation. (for example, import substitution industrialization)
What is import substitution industrialization?
A strategy to protect domestic industry though tariffs and other barriers. Designed to overcome the specializing effects of the colonial division of labor (ex: Brazilian cars)
What is the development alliance?
an alliance of commercial farmers, industrialists, public employees merchants and industrial workers who benefited from rapid industrialization and urbanization.
