The Myth of Development

This provocative book asks readers to be politically realistic about what is happening to the overwhelming majority of people in Third World countries. With three exceptions (Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan), development has not come. A myriad of people in feeble infant-states have been born–children of self-determination, but not of economic and scientific progress. State-driven, communist, and neo-liberal development models have failed most of these people. The large majority of Third World countries are only mistakenly called “developing.” They are not actually in the process of becoming Newly Industrialized Countries (NIC’s), but Non-Viable National Economies (NNE’s). This book explores the option of replacing the ‘wealth of nations’ agenda with a ‘survival of nations’ agenda.

In order to prevent increasing social and political disorders, the author argues that many countries with primary production and explosive urban growth will have to abandon dreams of development to adopt a policy of national survival based on the search for water, food, and energy security–and the stabilization of their populations.