Launch of Development 52.3 ‘Beyond Economics’

Gross National Product measures neither the health of our children, the quality of their education, nor the joy of their play. It measures neither the beauty of our poetry, nor the strength of our marriages. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and safety of our streets alike. It measures neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our wit nor our courage, neither our compassion nor our devotion to country. It measures everything in short, except that which makes life worth living, and it can tell us everything about our country except those things that make us proud to be part of it.

Senator Robert Kennedy, 1968

Anwar Fazal of the  Right Livelihood College,  Malaysia,Penang, reminded participants of the insights of Bob Kennedy at the Launch of ‘Beyond Economics’  Development vol 52 no 3 held in UNDESA, ,New York,  29-31 October 2009.

The launch of the journal issue followed by a SID HIVOS UNDESA International Policy Seminar ‘Responding to the interlocked financial, climate and care crises’  fostered a lively set of discussions of mainstream neo classical economic thinking, visions for alternative forms of economies, as well as the new frameworks for sustainable human development.

‘I think it is time that we look at the world of these twin cultures of consumerism and increased poverty and secondly that we look for a world driven far more by ethical perceptions of the commonality of our fate living on a common planet’ Shobha Raghuram, independent researcher, India.

‘I see that there is a cultural crisis although I would not fully call it a crisis, it is a phenomenon that we cannot stop, that is inevitable, that we still don’t understand in relation to globalization because so much more attention has been given to economic globalization.’ Lourdes Arizpe, National University of Mexico.

The discussion continues at the SID-HIVOS launch in The Hague in December 2009 where SID President Jan Pronk will chair the debate. In the interim a detailed report will be posted on the SID Forum as well as interviews with key protagonists of the meeting. Some of the interviews will also be featured in Development Vol. 53.1 ‘New Institutional Arrangements for Human Development’ out next March.

Photo by Arthur Muliro: (from left to right): Cecilia Alemany, Lourdes Arizpe, Manisha Desai and Jonathan Glennie

Cover photo credit: mikecogh

Written by: Laura

Filed Under: Culture and identity, Development, Events

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About Laura

Laura Fano Morrissey is External Relations Officer at the SID Secretariat in Rome. She is also working on the journal Development as Acting Assistant Editor. Laura graduated in Political Science and holds a Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies from the University of London. She has worked extensively in the NGO sector, mainly with a focus on Latin America.

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