ABSTRACT
The dominant development paradigm is often justifi ed on the grounds that development is necessary in order to overcome poverty and achieve social justice between rich and poor. This argument is supported in one form or another by both capitalist and Marxist theorists. It is assumed, fi rst of all, that the “good life” can be equated with the various forms of overconsumption enjoyed primarily in fi rst-world countries and, second, that the best way to achieve social justice is not by reducing overconsumption among the rich but rather by increasing consumption in both the developed and developing worlds. Development is portrayed as being in everyone’s interest and the obligation of rich countries to “help” poor countries is cast as a moral imperative. Critics of the dominant development paradigm are correspondingly accused of having a “let-them-eat-cake” attitude that condemns the poor to lives of misery and poverty.
