Nuevas teorizaciones y nuevas agendas en los estudios del desarrollo.

Abstract

Following the 'counter-revolution' in development theory formalised in the Washington Consensus, the national development project was shelved, and confidence waned in the capacity of industrialisation as a mechanism to eradicate poverty in the world. Years later, the failure of the Consensus prompted critical voices. Some appealed to the institutional framework and public policies as determinants of economic performance, while others questioned equating growth with development on two levels. The first advocated human development, understood as a process of expanding people's capabilities. The second supported sustainable development based on the idea that nature cannot withstand all forms of development. In the 21st century, at the heart of the United Nations, there was a strategic shift in development studies, giving rise to a new agenda focused on alleviating the symptoms of poverty rather than eradicating it. From a radically different perspective, post-developmentalist analyses deny the very concept of development and propose alternative visions.
This article critically reflects on the future of development studies and the official development agenda and considers 'alternatives to development', particularly the degrowth strategy as a solid, coherent and integrative proposal. Finding alternatives to development is now more urgent than ever because the crisis caused by the pandemic afflicting the world is calling into question the dominant paradigm of economic development and the very idea of progress.