Helping People Help Themselves: From the World Bank to an Alternative Philosophy of Development Assistance

by David Ellerman, Albert O. Hirschman (Foreword)

David Ellerman relates a deep theoretical groundwork for a philosophy of development, while offering a descriptive, practical suggestion of how goals of development can be better set and met. Beginning with the assertion that development assistance agencies are inherently structured to provide help that is ultimately unhelpful by overriding or undercutting the capacity of people to help themselves, David Ellerman argues that the best strategy for development is a drastic reduction in development assistance. The locus of initiative can then shift from the would-be helpers to the doers (recipients) of development. Ellerman presents various methods for shifting initiative that are indirect, enabling and autonomy-respecting. Eight representative figures in the fields of education, community organization, economic development, psychotherapy and management theory Albert Hirschman, Paulo Freire, John Dewey, and Søren Kierkegaard demonstrate how the major themes of assisting autonomy among people are essentially the same. David Ellerman is currently a Visiting Scholar in the Economics Department at the University of California at Riverside.

354 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2005

Reviews

[Scott Goddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a completely novel and original approach to developmental theory. The central premise is that, by basing their policy and operations on a flawed and erroneous belief that the provision of condition-attached funds will cure the prevalence of poverty, the likes of the World Bank and the IMF will inevitably result in failure. Instead a new mode of policy is advised, predicated upon the emphasis and recognition of a "doer" country's autonomy. In other words it is vital, to the extent that other approaches are ineffectual, to provide finance indirectly and without external coercion as this destroys the ability of the recipient to pursue development via their own genuine intrinsic motivations. Anything other than these intrinsic motivations will just prove ineffectual. I would also give this book 4.5 stars if possible.

[Kari · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the works he quoted more than his own words, based on the notes I took, but it was okay. I was looking for one particular term which I could have sworn I knew was in this book, but it must have been a different one. So that was disappointing, and I only read past the first 4 chapters because I was looking for that term, so the beginning was better than the end in my opinion.