Inside the Third World: The Anatomy of Poverty; Third Edition (Penguin politics)

506 Pages·1993·24.91 MB·English

by  Paul Harrison

PENGUIN BOOKS
INSIDE THE THIRD WORLD
'One of those rare achievements ... For the novice it is a
quick primer into acomplex and multi-layered subject. For
the specialist it is full of fresh insights ... Readable and
racy' - New Society
'An outstanding piece of research and writing. It's a book
that will be cited for many years to come' - Lester Brown,
President, Worldwatch Institute
'A first rate overview - highly recommended' - New Inter-
nationalist
'The best introduction to the many aspects ofdevelopment
sofar available in asingle volume' - Orbit
'Throughout, his panoramic, broad-brush presentation of
major issues is interspersed with intimate vignettes of the
lives ofactual peasants and urban slum dwellers. Ifsome of
hisunwavering objectivity rubsoffon hisreaders, the cause
ofimproved understanding ofdevelopment issues will have
been well served' - Ceres
'The best overall picture of the situation yet available.
Needs to bestudied by all who are in any way interested in
the future oftheir fellow human beings' - West Africa
'The busyperson's complete guide todeveloping countries'-
Commonwealth
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Harrison isafreelance writer and consultant based inLondon.
Hehas travelled widely in Asia, Africa and Latin America, visiting
twenty-eight developing countries. Hehas contributed frequently to
the Guardian and New Scientist, and has written major reports for
the Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Bank and the
UNPopulation Fund. Heisacontributor toEncyclopaedia Britannica.
Harrison attended Manchester Grammar School and took masters
degrees at Cambridge and the London School of Economics. His
interest in the Third World began in 1968 when he was lecturing
in French at the University ofIfe,Nigeria. Heismarried with two
children.
Penguin also publish The Third World Tomorrow (1980) and Inside
the Inner City (1983). Paul Harrison's other books include Land,
FoodandPeople, TheGreening ofAfrica and TheThird Revolution (Pen-
guin 1993), which won aPopulation Institute GlobalMediaAward
and was named Bookofthe Year 1992 bythe New Internationalist.
In 1988 he received a UN Environment Programme Global 500
award foroutstanding contribution tothe environment through his
writings.
PAUL HARRISON
Inside the Third World
THE ANATOMY OF POVERTY
THIRD EDITION
PENGUIN BOOKS
Formy mother
andmy wife
PENGUIN BOOKS
Published bythePenguinGroup
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First published inPelicanBooks 1979
Secondedition 1981
Reprinted withrevisedPostscript 1982
Reprinted withanewPostscript 1984
Reprinted witharevisedPostscript 1987
Reprinted inPenguin Books 1990
Third edition 1993
10
Copyright <l:iPaulHarrison, 1979,1981,1982,1984,1987,1993
Allrightsreserved
Printed inEngland byClaysLtd, StIvespic
SetinLinotype Lectura
ExceptintheUnited StatesofAmerica,thisbook issoldsubject
tothecondition that itshallnot, bywayoftrade orotherwise,belent,
re-sold, hiredout, orotherwisecirculated without thepublisher's
prior consent inanyfonn ofbinding orcoverother than that in
whichitispublished and without asimilarcondition includingthis
condition beingimposed onthesubsequent purchaser
Contents
Preface 9
Introduction 15
Part One: The Roots of Poverty
1. The Cruel Sun: The Curse of the Tropics 21
2. Winner Takes All: Pre-Colonial Societies and Colonialism
32
3. The Westernization of the World 47
Part Two: III Fares the Land: Agriculture and Agrarian
Problems
4. Eco-Catastrophe in Africa 63
5. Polarization in Asia 77
6. Land or Death in Latin America 105
7. The Shrinking Earth: Ecological Threats 128
Part Three: Hell is a City: Urbanization and Industry
8. Exodus: The Rural Poor Vote with Their Feet 139
9. The Promised Land: Skyscrapers and Shanty Towns 153
10. Workless of the World: Success and Failure of Big
Industry 176
11. The Barefoot Businessman: Traditional and Small-Scale
Industry 193
12. The Curious Economy 206
Part Four: The Lost People: The Underdevelopment of Man
13. Sins of the Fathers: How People Underdevelop 211
14. The Sorcerer's Apprentice: Population 215
15. Man is What He Eats: Malnutrition 261
16. Death Control: The Diseases of Poverty 280
8 Contents
17. The Alienation Machine: The Uneducated and the
Miseducated 303
18. The Poorest of the Poor: Women's Lot 328
Part Five: The Power Context
19. Unto Every One That Hath: The Unfair World Economy
343
20. Something is Rotten in the State: The Politics of Poverty
376
21. Princes and Paupers: Poverty and Inequality 415
22. The Limits to Unequal Growth 437
1993Overview: Shadows over the New World Order 448
Bibliographical Note: Sources and Recommended
Reading 486
MAPS
I. The disastrous climate 502
2. The world on the eve of colonialism 504
3. The colonial past 506
4. Rich temperate world, poor hot world 508
5. Population growth and the religious factor 510
6. Pests and diseases 512
Index 515
Preface
This book is based on fiveyears' research and travel in eleven
countries. between 1975 and 1980, which took me to SriLanka
(April/May 1975), Upper Volta and the Ivory Coast (February/
March 1976), Colombia and Peru (November/December 1976),
Brazil (May 1977), Indonesia and Singapore (September/
October 1977), three times to India Guly/ August 1974, March
1976 and June 1978), Bangladesh (September 1978) and Kenya
(May 1980).
In some ways it was a mad enterprise to attempt to cover so
much ground. Ihave tried to do so for two reasons. The first is
that Ibelieve a non-academic general survey of the entire field
of development problems will be l\seful both for general
readers and for people involved, academically or practically. in
one particular field. who would like a broad idea of what is
happening in other fields..With this end in view I have tried to
coverall the major topics. The second reason is that the under-
development of countries and of human beings cannot be com-
partmentalized ifit is to be fully grasped. It isa total sitijatfon,
in which every element plays a part.
There are, of course. penalties to be paid for attacking such
a broad front. The literature on every single subject in this
book is immense. I have had to be extremely selective. and am
only too aware of how much I have left out. Myaim has been
to cover the main problems and trends in each field as they
affect the central questions of poverty and inequality. I have
drawn on the major surveys by the United Nations family of
agencies and on the relevant academic research. Wherever I
have a personal experience to illustrate a point. I have used it
in preference to a reference to the research. The main reason is
to give a feeling of the concrete locations and people who are.
after all. what it is all about.
Readers who wish for a broader survey of promising pro-
jects, programmes and reforms in the fields covered here
10 Preface
might consult my book The Third World Tomorrow. In the
present book. I have tried. very briefly. to sketch the kind of
solutions being tried out by the development agencies and
some progressive governments to solve the problems I have
dealt with. The basic arrangement of the book is as follows:
Part One is an investigation of the geographical and historical
roots of poverty in the developing countries. Chapter 1
examines the handicap presented by tropicaJ climates. In
Chapter 2 I attempt to explain why western countries
'developed' before the Third World. enabling them to carveout
colonial empires. and discuss some of the consequences.
Chapter 3 discusses the fascination of Third World leaders.
continuing after independence. with western models of
development, a fascination which has lead them into so many
pitfalls.
Part Two is concerned with agricultural and agrarian problems.
Asthis is one fieldwhere the situations in the three continents
differ, I have devoted a chapter to each. discussing common
themes under the continent where their impact isgreatest: the
effect ofprimitive technology under Africa. increasing landless-
ness. debt and mechanization under Asia. and agrarian con-
flict under Latin America. Chapter 7 reviews the common
ecological processes threatening agriculture in all three con-
tinents: desertification. deforestation. silting and salinization.
Part Three looks at the exploding cities of the Third World
and their economies. Chapter 8 examines the causes and
dimensions of the exodus of rural poor to the cities in search
ofwork and higher incomes. In Chapter 9Ilook at the physical
and social problems of Third World cities. while Chapter 10
surveys the employment problem and the failure of large-scale
industry to solve it. The problems and promise of small-scale
enterprise and traditional industry. which employ the majority
of non-agricultural workers in the Third World. are the sub-
ject of Chapter 11. Chapter 12 briefly summarizes the major
imbalances of developing countries' economies.
Preface 11
Part Pour tums its attention to the human resources of the
Third World and attempts to trace the mechanisms by which
poor people become trapped in their poverty. Chapter 14100b
at the dynamics and effects of the population explosion. Chap-
ters 15 and 16 survey the extent and impact of malnutrition
and disease. and their links with each other. The state of
education in the Third World. and its failure so far to alleviate
poverty or to aid development, isthe subject ofChapter 17. The
position ofwomen iscovered in Chapter 18.
Part Five examines the wider context of national and inter-
national politics. Chapter 19 reviews the major problems of
the intemational economy as it affects the poor countries.
including commodities. the activities of multinational com-
panies, indebtedness and aid. In Chapter 20 I look at the
political mechanisms of developing countries which keep the
poor in their place and frustrate reform - corruption and the
influence of wealth in politics - and at the sources of political
instability and dictatorship. The increasing intemational and
national inequalities which result from these processes are sur-
veyed in Chapter 21. Chapter 22 shows how inequality, both
within and between nations. may be exerting a braking effect
on the economies of developing and developed countries
alike.
The list of people and institutions who have helped to make
this book possible is enormous. I should like to thank my wife
Alvina for patiently tolerating the prolonged absences which
the research involved.
Financial assistance for the travel came from the World
Bank. Population Services Intemational. the Intemational
Labour Office. the Intemational Planned Parenthood Federa-
tion and UNICEF. I am indebted. too. for direct personal en-
couragement and liberal provision of documents to Alun
Morris and Mark Chemiavsky of the World Bank. Jan Vitek
and Peter David of the ILO. Tim Black of PSI. Donald Allan of
UNICEF. and the information offices of the World Health
Organization. the Food and Agriculture Organization and the