Global Development: Problems, Solutions, Strategy - Example

Name Tutor Institution Date Introduction The Global development project faces newly evident challenges in the combination of energy, climate and food crises. In despite of practitioners fumbling around for solutions, they are limited by narrow market episteme in terms of advocating for green market solutions, recycles the problem as solutions rooted in the geopolitics on an unsustainable global ‘metabolic rift’ and a discourse of global ecology reinforcing international power relations through monetary valuation, and deepening the North’s ‘ecological debt. This is the argument of Philip McMichael, a sociologist from Cornell University. In some way, it could be argued that Philip McMichael’s statement is true, if effectively analyzed (McMichael, 247). Global development project is categorically a transformative project that aims at addressing specific problems that face society globally. More recently the focus of the project has been problem solving through a holistic strategy that uses defined indicators and measurable targets such as the Millennium Development Goals, which encompasses global targets to be attained by global community by 2015 or possibly 2020. However in despite of setting targets to alleviate the already existing problems, the global development project faces newly evident challenges such as climate, energy and the food crisis. In addition despite the proactive efforts by practitioners to find solutions to global problems adverse conditions continue to rise which derails the efforts made by the global development project. Philip McMichael’s argument can first be evaluated using aspect of energy. Frans (1998, p50) highlights that; economical and abundant energy can be described as the center of modern civilization. Oil, hydro energy, natural gas and coal form 85% of the world’s energy supply. It is evident that in the recent years most countries in the world have been experiencing the challenge of stabilizing and even increasing their energy supplies due to the looming energy crisis which has been marked by the raising of prices of energy resources to economies throughout the world. Indeed alternatives have been proposed and also initiated in order to deal with the energy crisis. The proposed strategies include the utilization of biofuels as alternatives for the existing conventional energy supplies, recycling, utilization of efficiency mechanisms such as the use of Negawatt power which significantly encourages the use of the generating capacity of current effectively and the use of consumption efficiency to raise the existing market supply rather than focusing on raising the energy generation plants. For instance with the current political and financial issues facing petroleum, projects have been devised whereby companies are working towards formulating alternatives sources of energy. Biofuels are actually becoming more popular, in addition there has been increased application of recycling in order to generate fuel. One of the presentations made at the West Coast Green conference was by a company (Blest Company manufactures) that recycles plastics into oil. Through recycling strategy the company produces Unrefined oil composed of diesel, kerosene, heavy oils and gasoline that can be used for incinerators and other purposes were refined oil is not very much required. The company intends to expand its market globally with the assistance of the global development project. This is just one of the may devised projects that basically aim at ensuring that there is a stable supply of energy within economies (Brich Randy, 95). However as the sociologist Philip McMichael argued, as practitioners grope for solutions to solve the global energy problem they are limited by a narrow market. In deed there is great enthusiasm concerning the use of biofuel to substitute the conservative types of energy sources. Wood, crop wastes and plant oils can be used to run buses and a car, in addition burning them simply brings back the atmospheric carbon extracted by plants while they were still growing. However what is evident is that the expansion of biofuel market faces the challenge of a narrow market episteme as highlighted by Philip McMichael. This is because the production or volumetric based policy support has resulted to a highly competitive market, due to the problem linked to the uncertainty of the certification scheme of biofuels. Problems such as biomass changes due to deforestation, soil erosion and GHG emissions such as Nitrogen oxide and Methane, have impacted proper certification of the biofuels scheme resulting to narrowing the market. (Brich Randy, 98). Furthermore From the economic view point, investment within the biofuel as an alternative will not effectively occur due to the type uncertainty in yields which occurs in many regions of the world. Yes the theoretical explanations of how energy supply can be increased through biofuel production exist, however the actual yields depend on the production costs, quantity and the production process, which have not been effectively proven by most regions of the world. As a result the new initiatives of enhancing biofuel production has a solution to the energy crisis , faces the challenge of a narrow market were by the market security will basically be characterized by few transactions, due to low trading volumes , in addition changes in supply and demand may occur which further cause dramatic effects on market prices. (Brich, 2005, p78). The recycles problem as a solution to the global energy crisis is rooted in the geopolitics on an unsustainable global ‘metabolic rift’ and a discourse of global ecology reinforcing international power relations through monetary valuation, as argued by Phillip McMichael. The aspect of energy security has been an increasingly essential Issue affected by territorial aspects, international relations and political geography. As Karl Marx highlighted in his works, 1844 Philosophical Manuscripts, the growth of capitalism results to a rift between social and natural systems in which he referred to as the metabolic rift. Marx claims that this rift will result to an ecological and environmental crisis. Analysts propose that the current global ecological crisis has its roots on the evolution of capitalism, which has further resulted to a shift in the political, social and economic arenas. Recycling as a solution the global energy crisis is affected by the intersection between geopolitics and the unstable condition of the ‘global metabolic rift’. Recycling is a basic agent of increasing energy reserves within a particular state, as result countries that dominate world economy due to possession of energy sources continue to influence the market as a result territorial conflicts arise as witnessed in historical conflicts such as the Indian Pakistan Conflict over Kashmir. Conflicts based on possession of territories rich energy continue to exist even in the recent years. In the Persian Gulf, the Shatt al Arab Maritime boundary continues to be a source of contention due to the abundant natural gas and petroleum. Such conflicts greatly affect the development strategy of recycling due to the amount of time spent on fighting as opposed to establish sustainable recycling projects (Frans 1998, p53). The unstable metabolic rifts that continues to exist in many parts of the world also affects the recycling solution in that as capitalism expands and the social society is separated from the natural environment more buildup of waste is created and continued environmental degradation, which basically derails recycling projects. Philip McMichael also highlights that another emerging crisis facing the Global development project is the food crisis. Practitioners have over the recent years devised various strategies of dealing with the food crisis such as the green market revolution whereby technological packages that consist of hybrid fertilizers, seeds and pesticides are donated to developing countries in order for them to increase their yields and thus alleviating hunger. Another devised intervention to solve the food crisis is increased funding to the world Food program, which has formulated projects such as feeding programs to the most vulnerable and hungry people in the world. In addition another important remedy that has been used to solve the global food crisis is the aspect of prioritizing agroecology and small holder farming. However despite of the initiatives highlighted above to solve the food crisis new challenges arise attributed to aspects which include narrow market episteme in terms of advocating for green market solutions. The green market solution is an initiative formulated to majorly assist the peasant farmers or the small scale rural community farmer, who lacks capacity to fund their own production facilities and finding market for their produce. However as Frans ( 1998, p56) argues in the recent years the green market solution has been faced with challenges such as the narrow market, whereby instead of the initiative assisting the peasant expand production and their market, the urban bourgeoisie attract both local and long-distance markets living the peasant rural farmer more impoverished. The city basically provides a greater cash economy for landed elites, while subjecting the rural community to a depleted market, which experiences minimal transactions and price fluctuations. The aspect of unsustainable global ‘metabolic rift’ is also an increasing challenge to initiatives of solving the food crisis. In despite of the initiatives enforced by the global development project of improving agricultural practices in rural regions, the rise of capitalism in modern day economies has resulted to a situation whereby people move to cities to work in corporations and companies as a result they have less contact with the environment. There is an increasing general circumstance of interruption between the social societies and nature, in this sense lesser time and resources are allocated to the environment which eventually leads to diverse conditions such as environmental degradation, waste build up and most common is food shortage due to lack of sufficient human resource to promote the food market. Frans (1998, p58) The deepening of the North’s ‘ecological debt has also been a continued threat towards solving the food shortage crisis. The ecological debt is primarily embedded on a south to north view point, whereby the industrialized countries of the north own the southern third world countries in terms of plundering account of resource, environmental damages, depositing of wastes and emission of greenhouse gases. Brinkley( 220). argued the South- north ecological debt consisted of three interactional claims 1. The north has been undertaking explicit looting of assets of natural resources from southern countries 2. The southern financial debts should be cancelled due to the fact that it encourages Social – ecological subsidiary 3. Equality for future generations demands that the Northern countries begun to pay back the accrued social- ecological debt that is they owe to the south. The strive to find solutions to the food crises is affected by deepening of these particular debt in that efforts to establish platforms for negotiation were the two sides can formulate consensus on how to reduced and eliminate the global food crisis have not been successful. For instance the recent environmental conference in Copenhagen in 2009 depicted a clear indication the discourse of global ecology reinforcing international power relations through monetary valuation, and deepening the, North’s ‘ecological debt. Despite the fact that the Kyoto Protocol timeline is running out in 2012 not much had been done by many states to attain the demands of the protocol of enhancing climate change and preventing global warming. The implication of this is that as long as the dynamics of deepening of the North ecological debt and the differences in terms of international relations due to monetary valuation, it is evident amongst states, solving food shortage will continue to be a challenge (Manolo 45). The climate crisis is also another critical issue that continues to face the global community. World leaders admit to the fact that change in climate is one the greatest threats to humanity. Climate change is a crisis that is founded on the problem of geopolitics. There have been international conflicts that have arisen due to climate change because of lack of understanding between actors concerning the direction to be undertaken in terms of dealing with the crisis. The dilemma on climate change has brought out the greatly feared threat of equality among states. What is evident is that those responsible for causing the problem are not the same people who are the most vulnerable to the problem caused. As a result in despite of increased lobbying and signing of internationally based rules, the consequences of climate change continue to be part of the global society. In the same sense solving the climate change crisis is still governed by geopolitics, the differences in terms of international relations whereby rich states dominate ideologically as opposed to poor states, and consequently the aspects of the north ecological debt whereby neither the north nor the south want be accountable for the current climate crisis. These reasons basically give explanations to why the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference was actually a typical failure (Foster, 122). Philip McMichael’s statement can also be contended, if effectively analyzed. The prospects he puts forward as the setbacks towards solving global challenges such as food, climate and the energy crisis to some extent may not be the sole reasons behind the derailment of the efforts of the global development projects. For instance if all players were given the chance to independently get involved in solving the challenges facing them, without interference from bodies such as the Global Development other Global institutions , being given capacity to formulate market policies and control their production outputs in some way every player in the global economy would work hard to solve these particular problems. Secondly the strategy of solving global problems unilaterally is also proving difficult not only as a result of factors such as geopolitics, a narrow green market, the North- South ecological debt but also as a result of lack of proper policy formulation by the bodies involved in devising development projects. In most cases the policies usually act as short solutions to problems rather than solving the problem for long-term, purposes. The aspect of maintaining sustainable development has proven to be difficult as a result, in despite of the formulation of strategies to deal with the energy, food and climate crisis, these challenges continue to persist. In my opinion I think that Philip McMichael’s argument was right because his view point can be backed by various factors which are evident in society as highlighted above. The potential of neoclassical economic principles in solving global challenges The neoclassical economics principles are mainly grounded on the allocation of goods and resources to the economy, essentially in terms of market operations. The principle assumptions and methodologies of neoclassical economics are based on individual economic actors and the full utilization of individual behavior in contributing to the patterns of distribution and production. The ideology advocates for liberalization of the market whereby each player or individual is treated freely and fairly. When making an evaluation of the potentiality of neoclassical economic principles in solving global challenges, one of the central principles of neoclassical economics in independence, in that if market liberalization was a complementary element in the character of human nature, individual will have the capacity to understand what they require and how much they require in order attaining satisfaction. If global issues such as climate change, food and energy crisis were to evaluated using the independent angle whereby individual players have capacity and freedom to resolve their problems independently, control their productions and markets, to some extent global challenges would easily be resolved (Brinkley 234). The neoclassical principles of supporting individualism is further useful because as highlighted by the neoclassical economics; Game theory, individuals would actually be foolish if they tried to compromise the free market system due to the fact they have a stake within the economic system. Game theory of neoclassical economics suggests that individuals would be foolish to try to compromise this free market system because they have stake in this economic system. As a result if for instance developing countries with serious need for development had a stake in determining their out puts, prices and income distribution within the global market, they would strive to maintain their economies rather than comprise the free market available to them.( McMichael 68). China is evidently a good case in the evaluation of how principles of how liberalization and independence can change an economy. In the 1990’s China was categorized as a developing country struggling with challenges such as population pressure, food shortages and low market capacity, however after establishing independent strategies of resolving their problems, China has significantly shocked the world in the 21st centaury. Moore (98) argues that even with the death of the application of neoclassical economics in contemporary society, what is evident is that the world still faces the same challenges even to extensive levels. For instance the UNDP Human Development Report in 1965 (when there existed intensified free markets and tariff breakdowns) the poorest 20% had 2.3% of the Wolds economic income while the richest 20% owed 69.5%. The UNDP report in 2002 highlighted that the 20% richest received 85% of the economic income while 205 of the poorest received only 1%. Indeed as we witness today the standards of living have not improved in regions such as Africa, Asia and South America, in despite of the existence of Economic interdependent initiatives which call for cooperation among states to enhance development. Neoclassical economic theories can be Useful in resolving global challenges for instance, profit maximization can be enhanced , whereas deviations that exist within the demand curve will enhance better understanding of consumer goods , in addition the supply curve will provides an efficient analysis of the factors of production. What will be attained eventually is utility and maximization, whereby market demand and supply will revolve around individuals and firms, as a result this interaction determines the equilibrium of price and output. This particular principle can assist in solving global problems such as the food and energy crisis, whereby the market demand and supply for every factor of production is analogically derived from the final output in order to determine the equilibrium distribution and equilibrium income. There are economists who argue that neoclassical economic principles can not be useful in solving global challenges because pushing for the principle of economic liberalization under the framework of neoclassical economics principles of free trade and liberalization would not be much effective because least developed states are not effectively equipped to compete with great architects who come from the neoclassical world. The potential of market based approaches to solving the global challenges The market approach is rooted on the specifications of the principle of economic competition in that within a free market the forces of demand and supply will influence the market prices to a certain level. As a result the consumers will not pay more while suppliers will not accept less for a certain community. The market based approach can be an essential strategy in solving global problems. For instance the approach can be used in enhancing environmental protection as a result not blaming the aspect of market failure on the environment. For instance under the approach referred to as “capand-trade” system, each source of pollution is provided with an initial emissions limitation, if the source of emission goes beyond the set limit they are required to find install specific control technologies to reduce the amount of pollution such as using cleaner fuels and recycling. Most essentially is that the source will use cheap means to reduce pollution. The application of the market based approach therefore aims at respecting the environment at the same time enhancing competitive markets, which can be a fundamental solution to global challenges ( John Donahue 13 ). The market based approach can also be useful in assisting governments and also business to think more creatively in terms of innovating new service and products. For instance if businesses want to maintain their competitive advantage over other business they would use innovative skill to enhance their products as a result enhancing quality and also quantity for the consumer, as a results governments can strive to develop conducive environments for business survive thus enhancing poverty reduction which is signified by problems such as food and energy shortage. Conclusion The aspect of solving global problems is a concept that requires the integration of different approaches in order to find a sustainable solution to the challenges currently facing the globe. Philip McMichael, a sociologist from Cornell University outlines an argument that has grounds and is factual however it is vital for developmental organizations to carry out comprehensive research in order to find lasting solutions to global problems. Works cited Brich Randy. The Geopolitics of Energy: Achieving a Just and Sustainable development by 2040. Sydney; Irwin , 2005. Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation. New York: Knopf, 1993. Foster, Bellamy. “The Vulnerable Planet’’ The Economic Journal .1999. Frans Doorman. Global development: problems, solutions, strategy : a proposal for socially just, ecologically sustainable growth. International Books; 1998. George Monbiot. ‘’Fuel for naught: biofuels = disaster’’. Guardian, Nov 2004. . John , Donahue. Market-based governance : supply side, demand side, upside, and downside . Visions of Governance in the 21st Century.2007. Moore, Jason . “Marx and the Historical Ecology of Capital Accumulation on a World Scale: A Comment on Alf Hornborg’s “Ecosystems and World Systems: Accumulation as an Ecological Process Ecomagazine . 2000. McMichael, Philip (2008). “Contemporary Contradictions of the Global Development Project: Geopolitics, Global Ecology and the ‘Development Climate,” Third World Quarterly ; 2008. Manolo Barreno. Ecological Debt: South Tells North. London : Sage;2005. . Brookings Institution Press, 2002. Philip Mcmichael. Third World Quarterly, Volume 30. New York; a Department of Sociology, Cornell University,2009. Read More