Development

The idea of development or progress has always been with us. We have aspirations or desires about what we would like to do and how we would like to live. Similarly. we have ideas about what a country should be like. What are the essential things that we require? Can life be better for all? How should people live together? Can there be more equality Development involves thinking about these questions and about the ways in which we can work towards at'hievtng these goals. This is a complex task and in this chapter we shall make a beginning at understanding development. You will learn more about these issues in greater depth in higher classes. Also. you will find answers to many of these questions not just tn economics but also in your course in history and political science. This is because the way we live today is iniluenced by the past. We can't desire for change without being aware of this. in the same way. it is only through I democratlc political. process. that these hopes and possibilities can be achieved in real life.

what people desire are regular work. better wages. and decent price for their crops or other products that they produce. In other words. they want more income. 

Besides seeking more income. one- way or the other. people also seek things like equal treatment. freedom. security. and respect of others. They resent discrimination. All these are important goals. in fact. in some cases. these may be more important than more income or more consumption because material goods are not an that you need to live. 

Money. or material things that one can buy with it. is one factor on Which our life depends. But the quality of our life also depends on non-material 

things mentioned above. if it is not obvious to you. then just think of the role of your friends in your life. You may desire their friendship. Simihrh' ._ there are many things that are not easily measured but they mm s 

to our lives. These are often ignored. 

You might ask; —— if development can mean different things. how me some countries are generally called developed and others under- developed? Before we come to this. 

let us consider another question. 

When we compare different things. they could have similarities as well as diil‘erences. Which aspects do we use to compare them? Let us look at students in the class itself. How do we different students? 1hey differ in their height. health. talents and interests. The healthiest student may not be the most studious one. The most intelligent student may not be the friendliest one. So. how do we compare students? The criterion we may use depends on the purpose of comparison. We use different criterion to choose a sports team. a debate team. a music team or a team to organise a picnic. if for some purpose. we have to choose the criterion for the all-round progress of children in the class. how shall we do it? 

Usually we take one or more important characteriatics of 

pereone and compare them based on these characteristics. Of course. there can be differences about what are important characteristics that should form the basis of comparison: friendliness and spirit of cooperation. creativity or marks . secured? 

This is true of development too. For comparing countries. their income is considered to he one of the most important attributes. Countries with higher income are more developed than others with less income. This is based on the understanding that more income means more of all things that human beings need. Whatever people like. and should have. they will be able to get with greater income. So. greater income itself is considered to be one important goal. 

Now. what is the income of a country? intuitively. the income of the country is the income of all the residents of the country. This gives us the total income of the country.