Interpreting the impasse in radical development theory : a postmodern intervention

Abstract

The modernist dream of a grand or master narrative is a now dead project, the recognition of the futility and oppression of such a project is the postmodern condition. This thesis suggests that while postmodernism expresses a desire to do away with privileged forms of representation it also indicates the formation of a new global reality. A critical appraisal of the impasse in radical development theory is given as a means by which to substantiate this claim. Drawing on themes relevant to postmodernism, this thesis contends that contrary to the recent trends in development theory, radical development has not transcended its self-imposed limitations in so far as it has neglected to problematise the domains of the discourse in which it is situated. The system currently in place produces not only the need for development but the very conditions making a critique of development possible. Thus postmodernism does not call for a 'better' way of doing development, not even for 'another' development but rather questions the privileged position through which these critiques are able to take place.