DEVELOPMENT

DEVELOPMENT

The agreed meaning of the concept "development" is very difficult to come by. This is so because various schools have their own definition of the term development. Development has been defined variously from the ideological bases of different authors. Whatever the case, development in any human society is a multi­dimensional process having radical implications not only in the economy but also political, socio-cultural and administrative fabric of a nation or society. So historically, the views of early economists like Adams Smith. In this theory of classical economy, he had developed the idea that "for a society to develop, it needs firstly, economic growth and that economic growth is equals to development." The classical theories believed that development would come about naturally if there is increase in income, production of goods and services and in wealth. This to them will invariably bring about the trickle down system which will have a down effect in increase of social services, health services, education and other social welfare programmes.

Development is multi-dimensional and this is recognized by Dudley Seers even though he accept the economic meaning to be central having implication on the political, social and cultural aspect. Thus, he implies that, development provided the later lead to the solution of social and political problems in the society, Dudley Seers also observed on the norms and preference of a society, a society may be described as developed if it is able to meet a minimum level of nutrition for its citizens. That is certain level of income. He also recognized a distributive aspect of development and by this, development has a moral connotation. Meaning that in a developed society, individual or groups have almost equal opportunities. Dudley Seers says that the fundamental questions to ask about a country's development are:

a)     What has happened to poverty?

b)    What has happened to unemployment?

c)     What has happened to inequality?

If all of these three mentioned have improved high levels, then beyond doubt there has been a period of development for the country concerned. But if in one or two question above have been going worse especially if the three have, it will be strange to call the result development even if the per capita income has doubted.

Like Seers, Rodney accept the fact that development in any human society is a many sided process. However, he emphasis that development in any society must be seen at the level of the individual, groups and society as a whole at the level of the individual, it should imply increase in skills and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self discipline, responsibility and material well-being this means that development is a process, which enables the individual to move towards self actualization. In other words, development should mean the ability of the individual to make the best of his ability. However, Rodney is quick to observe that the attainment of any of the above objectives aspects of development is tied up to they state Of the society as a whole., hence, he recognizes the limitation of analyzing development at the individual level alone. Therefore, Rodney suggested the need for carrying the analysis for development through the society-which the individuals are members. According to him, development at the social group level implies increasing capacity to regulate both internal and external relations, Rodney also acknowledges the central of role of the economic dimension of development. The justification is that the type of economic development that exists is in itself the index or the features of the society that exists. He defined economic development as an increase capacity for dealing with one's environment which in turn depend on the extent of technological advancement (forces of production) and the extent of division of labour and also social relations of production of all these affects other aspects of society quantitatively and qualitatively.

Development is what every society or nation strives for, but while economic progress is an essential component of development, it is not the only one. This is because development is not purely and economic phenomenon. Ultimately, it must encompass more than the material and financial side of people's lives. Development should therefore be perceived as a multi-dimensional process involving the re-organization and re-reorientation> of the entire economic social system. In addition, to improvement in incomes and output, it typically involves radical changes in institutional social, and administrative structures, as well as in popular attitudes, and some times even customs and beliefs.

Having discussed the various opinions and views relating to the concept of development, let us draw our understanding of the concept from these views.

Firstly, it means economic growth in term of increase in the production of goods and services. It also includes westernization and modernization particularly to the third world countries.