an insight on development from a peace corps volunteer

“And perhaps it was just as well Ilunga and the others weren’t in a hurry to become the kind of producers I wanted them to be. They might develop along Western lines with time, but why push them? The local system worked. Everyone was taken care of. Everyone did stay afloat. Besides, there were already plenty of myopic, self-enriching producers in the world—entrepreneurs and businesses guided by the sole principle of increasing their own wealth above all else. So many were there in fact that the planetary boat, battered by breakneck production and consumption, was in ever-increasing danger of sinking, taking with it the ultimate extended family: the species. There seemed to be no survival strategy at work for the planet as a whole as there was for this small patch of Africa; no thread of broader community interest that ensured against total collapse. Indeed … the thought occurred to me more than once that, in several important respects, African villages needed far less instruction from the West than the other way around.” (Mike Tidwell, Peace Corps volunteer)