DEVELOPMENT: No Country Is Developed!

The history of every society is not the same. Some societies are more advanced than the other and that explains why some are more civilized than the other. This also explains the economic factors of the advance countries because their histories were documented before the less advanced ones.

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African countries, for instance, came after many of these more advanced countries. When the West came in contact with us, they felt we were barbaric and perhaps savages because their 'evolution' was ahead of us. They came in contact with civilization before us and they advanced their countries with all the resources at their disposal. This could be blamed on Africans who know nothing about the worth of golds or diamonds for instance. This also explains why many Africans had diamonds at homes or held them like every other stones without knowing they are more valuable than mere stones.

When people hastily compare African countries with the West – Europe, I quickly tell them to understand the fact that we have different histories.  America for instance became independent on July 4, 1776. When did African countries become independent or come in contact with civilization?

You will say barely few years ago. So you can easily expect what is on ground now as per the wide gap in terms of development. What I do not agree with is the demarcations in developmental processes. There is this misconceptions (if I can use the world) that some countries are developed and others are developing.

To keep the record straight, no country is under-developed or developed! Every countries are always and constantly developing.  Development is a process and this process is not a static one. Let me try explain some of these terms.

Development:

Development is the constant process of developing something. It means an event forming a new thing or changing to a new thing. It is also the process in which something grows or changes to become more advanced. It is the gradual growth of something.

Developing:

The process to come or bring into existence.  When you say something is developing, it means the thing in question is growing and has the possibility of becoming something soon or over a period of time. Developing means non-static.

Developed:

Developed means to be elaborated to specific degree. It is what every process of becoming aimed to become. It is the final product or end of the process in question.

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From the above, we can say that Africa, Asia, Europe and every countries of the world are developing countries. To put the record straight, if you say a country is developed, it means that country has reached its final peak and no other development is needed in such country. You are simply saying the country is perfect and has all the things human beings yearn for without lacking anything.

But we know quite well that there is no such country. Even in the USA, they are still developing so many things. There are many undeveloped cities over there. They have ghetto there, they have people earning little or less compare to what some people are earning in Africa.

So when you read that developing countries are countries with poorer people, poor industrialization and people their earn little income, then you wonder if we do not have advanced industries here, if we do not have rich people in Africa that are richer than some in the West, if our incomes are truly small in all ramifications.

Do not forget, the crux of this piece is that all countries are developing countries. No country is developed or can be said to be developed if we truly understood development for what it is. There are industries in Africa that are more advanced than those in the West. 

So when you hear developing countries, know that all countries are developing. No country is developed. You can admit that the level of development in some countries are higher than others which is understandable and partially has to do with their histories. But do not think any country is developed because it means the country is ‘whole’, at its peak and no further development is going on there.

Critical objections are allowed. Kindly drop your responses below.

Thanks for reading. Your boy @smyle the philosopher.