How Did 'Development' Come to Stand for Everything Ideal?

Capitalist expansion and industrial growth in new economies are usually represented by one magic word: Development. But, what happens to democracy when capitalism becomes global? Rajan Gurukkal, historian and social scientist, in his article, “Death of Democracy: An Inevitable Possibility under Capitalism,” discusses the problems associated with the development rhetoric and how it enables the unchecked and problematic expansion of capitalism.

This visual monologue presents historian Rajan Gurukkal’s view of the development rhetoric and why we must be cautious of it.

Illustration: Chaitanya Mandugula [chaitanya@epw.in]

Curated by: Vishnupriya Bhandaram [vishnupriya@epw.in]

Read more on the Development:

Development of a Few, Misery for the Masses, 2017 by Anand Teltumbde

Revisiting India's Growth and Development, 2016 by Pulin B Nayak

The Crisis and the Global South: From Development to Capitalism, 2011 by Hugo Radice

Whose Nation? The Displaced as Victims of Development, 1996 by Smita Kothari

Capitalism, Nation State and Development in a Globalised World, 1997 by Arun Ghosh

The Agrarian Question and Development of Capitalism in India, 1986 by Utsa Patnaik

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