Abstract
Making a difference between social development and economic development has proven to be considerably difficult for many people, including scholars. Similarly, people find difficulties in trying to establish the difference between social development and social change. While this has been the state of affairs for quite a long time, it still is difficult for the most learned people to differentiate social development from cultural development. Clearly, social development is a complicated concept. Scholars and authors have constantly given various definitions of social development. Even so, most of the scholars and social scientists agree on the indicators of social development. For instance, most scholars agree in near unanimity that better healthcare and high education levels and facilities in a community can indicate social development. Conversely, some still believe that social development is a try and error concept, which is amorphous and immeasurable. This paper looks into the concept of social development exploring the various definitions of the concept as given by different authors. The differences between social development and cultural development are outlined in the second part. In the third part, the paper as well comes up with a framework that can be used as a criterion for evaluating how socially developed a country is. The last part of the paper applies the framework to the state of Kuwait.
Social development and cultural development
According to Midgley (2005), social development is a comprehensive concept that entails a series of qualitative changes in the framework and structure of the entire society that facilitates better realization of societal goals and objectives. In the view of this author, social development is a qualitative aspect of the society. This means that social development cannot be in anyway measured in terms of quantitative changes. According to Midgley (2005), an increase for income that an individual earns is not an indicator of social development. The author notes that there is a difference between economic growth, economic development, and social development. He argues that the concept of social development denoted an improvement in the quality of life through such things as access to better healthcare, low illiteracy levels, high employment levels, as well as near nil chances of poverty and hunger. According to Midgley (2005), social development is concerned with access to better quality social amenities. Social amenities are the variables that define and determine the quality of life that an average individual leads.
Roosa (2010) defines the concept of social development as the totality of efforts aimed at organizing and coordinating human activities, endeavors, and energies at advanced levels with the main aim of attaining desired outcomes. Roosa (2010) argues that social development can be summarily described as verifiable increase in the potential of the average human being. According to this author, social development is the process rather than the visible change. Notably, Roosa (2010) refers to the concept as the collection of human activities with a vision to have increased human potential. On the contrary, other social scientists argue that social development is a situation where all citizens are comfortable in the society, since they can afford and access necessary social amenities. Roosa (2010) goes ahead to argue that social development can be achieved without there being economic development. This, he says, is most commonly possible in socialist economies such as china and Russia.
Gechever (2005) believes that social development is a broad concept that entails various human actions and efforts that are employed enhance the societal positives and reduce or endeavor to eradicate all societal negatives that affect the quality of life that people lead. The author sites such negatives as crime rates, teen pregnancies, poverty, disease prevalence, hunger, and malnutrition and so on. The social scientist identifies and points out such positives as better healthcare, high employment, and literacy, access to clean water security, social justice, and equality and so on. This description of social development is very particular in pointing at the variables that define the quality of life of a human being. The main reason why I would prefer this definition is that it does not only concentrate on the positives but as well touches on the negatives, and mentions what should be done to such negatives. For instance, the Commission for Social Development (CSocD), besides concentrating on the positives, emphasizes such programs as the poverty eradication program, anti-malaria programs and so on. Ultimately, this is my idea of social development, and hence I elect to go by this definition.
Cultural development
Contrary to common misconception, there is a significant difference between social development and cultural development. Cultural development can be differentiated from social development in the sense that cultural development does not necessarily imply better quality life. According to Valsiner (2002), cultural development can be described as the ability of an individual or a community to move from permittivity to civilization. This means that people improving their way of thinking by embracing more acceptable ideas towards life can evidence cultural development. For example, cultural development can be evidenced by people stopping believing in superstitious ways of healing and embracing allopathic medicine instead. It is critical to note that a person could stop believing in witchcraft by embracing allopathic medicine, but cannot access such medicine. In such a case, there is cultural development but no social development. Noteworthy therefore is the reality that social development is a matter of improvement in social amenities that are meant for the entire society (Ratha et al, 2011). Conversely, cultural development is characterized by a change in the ways of thinking that people embrace. As such, two individuals can live in one society, with one culturally developed and the other culturally retarded.
Commonly, people talk of social exposure. This exposure describes cultural development. A person that has had the chance to move from a community where illiteracy is the norm, and gone to a country where education is a primary requirement, the individual will access education and shun the poor ways of reasoning back at home. He will be exposed to new cultures, practices, and ways of thinking in such a way that he may not accept the naïve ways of his people. Upon returning home, the person will find it difficult to fit into his own culture, thanks to cultural development. Summarily, cultural development is a matter of mindset and not human potential. When the Europeans moved to Africa spreading Christianity and formal education, they were not socially developing the communities but rather culturally developing the people by enlightening natives (Best, 2005). For instance, following European invasion of Africa, most communities quit such things as female genital mutilation.
Criteria based framework by which a country can be judged as socially developed
Goldbard and Adams (2006) argue that social development is measurable. Apparently, social development cannot be measured by figures or scales, but can be estimated depending on the quality of life people live due to the social facilities and amenities available to them. Social development is considerably different from economic development, but there is a thin critical line connecting the two. For instance, today, most socially underdeveloped nations are the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) by economic standards. Important to note is the reality that the factors that define social development cannot be made available in a poor economy because they call for funding (Torado, 2012). In developing a criteria based framework, I would take into consideration such indicators of social development as education and employment, water and sanitation, quality healthcare, standards of living, food and water, literacy and social status. The criteria of judging a country would therefore consider these points as follows.
Education and employment
Apparently, education is a significant indicator of social development. A country or community that is socially retarded is characterized by lack of access to quality education. A country will be said to be socially developed if the average citizen is capable of accessing quality education. Essentially, this means that for a country to be described as socially developed there should be a good number of schools, equally distributed among the communities within the country. Schools in the region should be well equipped with necessary resources, both human and capital. Essentially, the schools should be having good and reliable staff. Similarly, there should be adequate access to books and modern libraries. The education sector should indicate social development through increased literacy levels and access to formal jobs. On the contrary, a country that is not socially developed would be characterized by lack of access to formal education and high levels of illiteracy (Riley and MMF, 2007). The country’s trend should be evaluated over the years as far as education is concerned. Similarly, the country’s literacy levels should be compared to world literacy levels.
Water and sanitation
According to the United Nations, access to clean drinking water is not a common occurrence in all communities and countries. People, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and south East Asia cannot readily access clean drinking water. Lack of proximity to drinking water causes deaths and diarrhea in children due to consumption of contaminated water. According to the reports by the United Nations, most women in rural Africa have to walk a distance of not less than 5 kilometers in order to access clean drinking water. By all standards, therefore, such communities are not socially developed. On the contrary, in Western Europe and the United States, almost the entire population access piped water that is fit for human consumption (Ginevičius & Podvezko, 2009). Such societies are recognized as developed in the social sense. Therefore another criterion comes up – ease of accessing clean drinking water.
Food
The main reason why I would advocate for the inclusion of food in the criteria based network is that food is a basic commodity that supports bare survival. In using food as a criterion to determine whether a country is socially developed, I would put emphasis on such things as access to three meals and whether or not the diet that the average person consumes is balanced. According to Auty and Mikesell (2011), most socially underdeveloped communities cannot access balanced diet. Even worse, some people cannot even access adequate food, let alone a balanced diet. This, they explain has been the primary cause of malnutrition. The levels of malnutrition can be used as an indication of social development or otherwise. As a matter of common knowledge, socially developed societies do not experience such problems as malnutrition and food insecurity.
Healthcare and disease prevalence
The quality of healthcare that an individual can access effortlessly determines the prevalence of diseases in a community. The cost at which such healthcare is accessed is as well a critical factor. Essentially, such socially advanced countries as Canada and Australia have the best healthcare policies, and such healthcare can be accessed without much hassle. Conversely, accessing healthcare in such places as rural Africa is not the easiest of things. The primary difference between rural Africa and urban Africa is the actuality that the urban class can access such social amenities, but still, they access them at very high costs (Ginevičius & Podvezko, 2009). As such, the ease of access to healthcare could be another criterion. By ease, it means that health facilities should be distributed evenly across the country, with people accessing them at no cost or very little cost if any.
Demographics
Apparently, socially developed economies are associated with a balance between the population and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In straightforward times, there should be a high per capita income for a country to be described as socially developed. The balance between population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should be achieved through low birth rates. As a way of advancing towards social advancement, China has adopted a one-child policy. This is aimed at reducing the population in relation to income. A good example of social underdevelopment brought about by the imbalances between population and income is Africa and South America. Death rates as well indicate the standards of life in a country. A high death rate occasioned by prevalence of disease and malnutrition is an indication of poor social standards. Other aspects of the population such as social status should, as well, be considered. This refers to such aspects as social justice and equality. Social development is characterized by social justice and quality.
The case of Kuwait
Bordered to the north by Saudi Arabia and to the south by Iraq, Kuwait, officially referred to as the state of Kuwait is a country that sits on the wealthiest oil reserves. The country is ranked number three globally as far as immigration is concerned. Worth mentioning is the actuality that out of its approximated 3.5 million population, only 1.5 million people are nationals. The country has a policy that discourages offering citizenship to foreigners, as a way of maintaining the status quo. The nation is ranked as the fifth richest in the world, by per capita income.
Education and literacy
Going by literacy and education, Kuwait is a social developed country. The state has a literacy level standing at 93.9% as at the end of the year 2012. The education ministry has put so many efforts into offering equitable education. By equitable education, it means that the ministry is trying to offer education that is accessible by all children irrespective of color, religion, gender and other prejudices. As part of these efforts, the government dedicates 13 percent of the national income to the education sector. This money is used in building schools in all parts of the country, and equipping such institutions with the latest technology. Considering that foreigners flow into the country in search of jobs, the rate of unemployment is quite low, especially for the nationals (Casey et al, 2007). The oil industry, which accounts for 95% of the country’s export income, provides many employment opportunities to both foreigners and locals. Notably, the state has the highest number of expatriates.
Healthcare and disease prevalence
Typically, talking of disease prevalence, the focus is on HIV and AIDS pandemic. The country has among the least percentages of deaths associated with HIV. Kuwait has a percentage of 0.1 representing the people with HIV and AIDS. This percentage is significantly low compared to other countries. Speaking of healthcare, O’shea and Spilling (2010) argue that Kuwait healthcare facilities use unprecedented technology. Additionally, the average individual can readily access healthcare on demand. People access quality health care at costs that are highly subsidized by the government. The healthcare sector of Kuwait is comparable to those of the United States and Western Europe. Therefore, by healthcare standards, Kuwait is socially developed.
Food, water, and sanitation
With a GDP of 167.9billion US dollars, Kuwait is the eleventh richest country in the world. Going by per capita income, Kuwait is ranked the fifth richest nation with a per capita income of 81800 US dollars. The financial capability of the Kuwaiti people enables them to access food effortlessly. Additionally, the government of Kuwait, which obtains 80% of its income from the oil industry provided residents with clean, piped water as well as proper sanitation such as well-maintained sewage systems (Isiorho and Gritzne, 2002). Again, by this standard, Kuwait is socially developed.
Demographics
The population of Kuwait is considerably small, especially considering the relationship between such population and the national income. This makes the per capita incomes considerably high. With a high per capita income, the entire population of Kuwait is deemed comfortable. Riylin (2009) observes that the high influx of people in search of jobs in Kuwait is a clear indication that the country has a good social infrastructure that can sufficiently accommodate all nationals, an additional population that is, in fact, bigger than the population of nationals. The only aspect of the population that makes Kuwaiti social development slowdown is the reality that the Kuwaiti people have not embraced the spirit of social justice and equality. Casey et al (2007) argues that the women of Kuwaiti as socially imprisoned in the sense that they do not access the same opportunities as men. For instance, the women of Kuwait do not have voting rights. Additionally, they ate not in a position to make informed decisions. A Kuwaiti woman has to obtain permission from her husband in order to access a passport. Apart from this social injustice, all other factors certify Kuwait as a socially developed economy. It is imperative to mention that the United Nations identifies Kuwait as a high-income economy since it has the highest human development index in the entire Arab world.
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