The Politics of Progress in Human Development
This chapter analyses approaches to understanding the politics underlying success and failure on human development, which are of critical importance for progress, as shown in earlier chapters. It draws on Polanyi’s analysis of a long-term swing of a pendulum between emphasis on markets and emphasis on social objectives, and on theories of social movements and social change, for example put forward by Tarrow and Tilly. It illustrates the relevance of both these approaches with empirical examples. The chapter contends that democracy is a permissive condition, providing space for collective action (social movements, workers’ movements action, and political parties) to promote change favouring human development. The chapter also discusses how far politics has been incorporated into the human development and capabilities approaches, considering and critiquing the view that what is needed is a ‘democratic consensus’.