The history of an idea（「發展」此一概念的歷史）（出處不詳）
課程：特別議題
指導教授：李美賢
摘譯：張正2003/9/24
The idea of ‘development’ was invented in the post-Second World War world to describe the process by which 'backward' countries would 'catch up' with the industrialized world – courtesy of its assistance. Five decades and much sobering experience later, the concept has spawned an industry of thinking and practice and undergone much evolution. However, the numbers of poor people in whose name development is justified are greater than they were when it was invented, and in many cases their poverty stems directly from the havoc it has wreaked on their lives. Under these circumstances, is the concept any longer useful?
所謂「發展」的概念，是在二次戰後用來描述「後進」國家如何「趕上」工業化世界—承蒙工業世界的援助。
經歷了五十年的風風雨雨之後，這個概念還適用嗎？
WHERE SHOULD WE go first to understand 'development'? Let us start at San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, inJanuary 2002.
Farmers in this agricultural area close to the capital city are protesting the forced appropriation of 33 square miles of land and the displacement of hundreds of families to make way for the construction of a new international airport. They have dug ditches to prevent heavy machinery reaching the site, taken out a case against the project in the courts, and faced down riot police in central Mexico City. But the authorities press on. Compensation is minimal, and - since agriculture is in crisis - the prospects of setting up a new farm elsewhere are negligible. 'We want our land and our freedom, and the government wants us to be taxi drivers and luggage handlers', says Ezequiel Hernandez, one of the protestors.'
墨西哥農民的土地被徵收作為機場，補償金微乎其微，他們上街抗議被鎮壓。他們說：「我們要的是土地和自由，政府卻要我們去當計程車司機和行李員。」
On the other side of the world, in the Himalayan foothills, activist Sunderlal Bahuguna has just given up a similar fight. For several decades, he spearheaded protest against the construction of a dam at Tehri on the Ganges in Northern India. His own hut was submerged in December 2001 when the reservoir inundated the poorest quarters of the town. The homes of all its 10,000 population will eventually go under. Thousands of acres of fertile land will also be flooded, displacing 100,000 people. The dam is close to a seismic fault capable of unleashing earthquakes measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale. If it breaches, there will be an immense catastrophe. Despite recommendations from several government reviews that the dam should not be built, its construction has been unstoppable. If previous Indian experience is anything to go by, the outlook for most of those affected is likely to be ruin. Land compensation is restricted by bureaucratic fiat, and much of the cash compensation allocation has already mysteriously disappeared.
喜馬拉雅山腳下，一個傢伙抗議在北印度的恆河邊興建水壩。他自己的家已經被一座因為地震而崩塌的水庫淹沒，一萬人被淹死、數千畝良田被淹沒、十萬居民被迫遷移。雖然當初政府明明建議那座水庫不該興建，但最終還是建了，土地補償被官僚體制限制，大部分的現金也不知去向。
Stories such as these abound in most corners of the developing world. Many never see the light of international attention because they are about less spectacular installations - factories, power plants, flyovers（天橋）, office blocks, fancy new housing developments where villages or settlements of 'illegal' squatters fringed the city and got in the way. Planning does not include democratic consultation, omits adequate compensation for the displaced, and neglects environmental concerns. Construction is accompanied by official secrecy, deal-fixing, corruption（貪污賄賂） and inefficiency - and dirt-cheap wages for site laborers, many of whom are women and children. Not all such projects demonstrate these failings, but they are typical of many. International investment - from the private market, the public purse, or some combination of the two — is often involved.
這樣的故事充斥在發展中的世界，不常看到，因為多半是基礎建設。這些建設通常不包括民主的諮詢，而是藏污納垢—貪污、低效率、廉價女工和童工；經費則來自於國際資本。
The irony of these projects is that they are justified in the name of 'development'. This amorphous term covers a host of activities as both means and ends, but unquestionably includes infrastructural projects. In many ways, these are emblematic of development – its symbols, its markers, its statements of faith and in some cases its all-too-familiar white elephants. The essence of 'development', as most people understand the term, is that it should combat poverty. Yet many of these projects adversely affect poor people and inflict poverty on others who were not poor before. They do this in the name of progress, modernization and economic growth – legitimate goals no doubts. But not without legitimate democratic consultation and just compensation.
這些狗屁倒灶便因「發展」之名而正當化了，掩蓋了其方法和目的。「發展」打著現代化、經濟成長的大纛繼續「合法」前進，惟獨缺乏合法的民主諮詢以及正當的補償金。
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