Victims of Development: Resistance and Alternatives

by Jeremy Seabrook

This combination of analysis and first-hand reportage looks at the connections between development, economic growth, social justice and the environment—not in theory, but as this tangle of relationships affects people in their daily lives. It is rooted in the experience and struggles of people all over the world—in the Himalayas or on the islands of Malaysia, in the slums of Manila and Delhi or the tenements of Sao Paulo, as well as in the inner-city areas of Liverpool or the council estates of Cornwall. The author argues that the Western path of development has brought at least two intractable problems. The first is the widening chasm between rich and poor, within countries and internationally. The second is the damage to the resource-base of the earth, on which all economic systems depend. With the end of Communism, the dispossessed apparently no longer pose any threat to this kind of “development.” Relieved of the threat from the poor, the rich, only too aware of the environmental menace to their well-being, may be tempted to resolve it at the poor‘s expense. Avoiding this harsh possiblity is the objective of those seeking another form of one based upon a decent sufficiency for all, within the limits of what the earth can bear. This book aims to illuminate and champion that struggle.

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 17, 1993

About the author

Jeremy R. Seabrook was an English author and journalist who specialised in social, environmental and development issues. His book The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny was longlisted for the Orwell Prize.

Reviews

[Nadia Alblooshi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another tragic book on the reality of development. It consists of testimonial sections where people express how their lives have changed after the development promise!