ABSTRACT
Development, like music and motherhood, has got to be a good thing. Or at least that is a common assumption when the word is used. But what if development involves deterioration, regression even? What if development takes a form which so transforms the individual that they become a distortion of who they formerly were? Just as musical tastes differ, so do perceptions of what would be desirable, or less desirable, ‘development’. It is even conceivable that one person’s cacophony could be another’s symphony. Motherhood too can be a mixed blessing. In the form of an unwanted pregnancy, it may be perceived as a curse. In the way it is experienced and managed, it can become destructive for both the mother and the child, and others can be destroyed in the process. Development may be highly desirable, but the criteria for making that judgement deserve some prior inspection if it is to be accepted with any professional confidence.
