Where angels fear to tread?: ‘Third world women’ and ‘development’

Male Bias in the Development Process, edited by Diane Elson. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1991. Pp.viii + 215. £29.95 (hardback). ISBN 0 7190 2555 9

Gender, Development and Identity: An Ethiopian Study, by Helen Pankhurst. London: Zed Books, 1992. Pp.216. £29.95 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 85649 157 9 and 158 7

Where Women are Leaders: The SEWA Movement in India, by Kalima Rose. London: Zed Books, 1992. Pp.286. £32.95 (hardback); £12.95 (paperback). ISBN 1 85649 083 1084 X

In debates between feminists from South and North it has been argued that Western feminists implicitly disparage ‘third world women’ by representing them as ‘sexually oppressed’. Further, it has been argued, ‘third world women's’ political struggles are trivialised when these women are discursively homogenised. It is argued here that while there is some truth in these assertions. Southern feminists should beware of cultural ‘fundamentalism’. However, their emphasis on the importance of socio‐cultural analysis is applauded, especially if we are to understand Southern economic contexts. Socio‐cultural analyses do not lead away from economic issues: they provide more explanatory variables and more complex models.     

Under development and modes of production: A reply to Nicos Mouzelis

What follows is a reply to a number of points raised by Nicos Mouzelis in his review of my book, From Modernisation to Modes of Production: A Critique of the Sociologies of Development and Underdevelopment (Macmillan 1979, £4.95 paper) in The Journal of Peasant Studies, Volume 7, No. 3, April 1980. I focus on Mouzelis’ arguments that my framework for analysing Third World societies is ideological and reductionist. I try to show how the analysis put forward in my book can be used to analyse what for me is the central problem of ‘development ‘ ‐ namely the relations between the restricted and uneven capitalist development characteristic of Third World societies, their class structures, forms of state and development strategy. I also examine the relevance of Mouzelis's alternative ‐ of inter‐relating structuralist and action perspectives ‐ and suggest that the framework put forward in my work can deal more adequately with the issues raised by Mouzelis in his review. I agree with Mouzelis that the most fruitful debates in the Sociology of Development currently centre on the relevance of the Marxist approach, and view my comments here as part of this wide‐ranging, continuing debate, of which my work forms a part.     

Women ‘s experiences ‐text or relation? Looking at research practices from a sociological and feminist perspective

As a paradoxical result of the very developments within women's research, the whole notion of “women's experiences” is now being questioned. In this article it is argued that this question should be dealt with not only on the metatheoretical or theoretical level, but also on the level of actual research practices. Starting with the level of research practices, we can find theoretical and methodological arguments for regarding experience as a proper object for study and politics. Arguments which in turn challenge the approaches on the metatheoretical level and which provide the missing links between these two levels. It is in the process of articulation of an experience (verbally, in writing, by gestures, and so forth) ‐ in contrast to the lived experience ‐ that we as social scientists enter the scene. Two different methods ‐ the interview and memory work ‐ are here discussed to illustrate how different relations of productions of knowledge (positivistic and non‐positivistic) will result in different ways of articulating and understanding the experience. It is argued that the extent to which an articulated experience is both “text and relation” varies with the method being used. It is, however, further argued that it is precisely the discursive dimension in the articulation of an experience that provides a constructive tension in relation to the lived experience. A tension that makes reflection and change possible. And pursuit of change, as a feminist enterprise within the production of knowledge is finally argued as a challenge to the pursuit of truth as the enterprise within the philosophy of science.     

Escaping poverty: behind the numbers

Head counts of poverty are the most commonly used indicator of poverty level. While not ideal, the analysis of poverty head counts informs conclusions about whether households move in or out of poverty over time. Longitudinal data from repeated surveys show that, at the country level, some countries have lifted their populations out of poverty, while the populations of other countries have either remained poor or become poorer. How these scenarios come to be is the key question that challenges the development community. What mix of country characteristics, policies, structural features and external influences conspire to either improve or deteriorate well-being and to affect overall poverty levels? Unfortunately, changes in poverty levels might sometimes be the result of changes in poverty measurement methodology, with no real change in the well-being of the population. For this reason, poverty assessment should begin with an analysis of the measurement methodology – particularly given the increased global enthusiasm for poverty reduction. This article examines panel data from Mongolia and the Philippines to show how seemingly slight variations in survey methodology can have a rather significant impact on poverty results. In order to make a robust comparison of poverty head counts from different surveys, the basic building blocks of the poverty measures must be identical. This is not always the case. Given the difficulties identified with money-metric head counts, this study concludes by arguing for a move beyond economic statistics, toward multidisciplinary approaches to poverty assessment. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Trump's Misguided Hesitation

<正>Charlottesville tragedy has roots in the president’s inflammatory rhetoric So many disturbing and heartbreaking themes emerged out of the violence in Charlottesville,Virginia,on August 12that it’s difficult to know where to begin.The events in Charlottesville—particularly the white