Some currents of critical thought to imagine a new paradigm of human development from the South

Abstract

The human development approach promoted by the UNDP in the early 1990s probably marked a turning point compared to the economic views that associated progress with GDP growth. However, more than three decades after its formulation, various authors and critical experiences, especially from the Global South, have pointed out the structural, ethical, and epistemic limitations of the dominant approach to human development. These criticisms revolve around its technocratic orientation, its emphasis on aggregate indicators that make structural inequalities invisible, and its claim to universality, which is alien to the historical, cultural and political contexts of the peoples of the South.This article proposes a critical re-reading of the human development paradigm from a Latin American perspective, using five fundamental currents: decolonial thought, the post-development approach, the worldview of Buen Vivir (Good Living), the care economy, and a critical expansion of the capabilities approach. Each of these perspectives provides theoretical and ethical tools to question the hegemonic assumptions of development and pave the way towards alternative, pluriversal, situated, relational and sustainable horizons. Taken together, these trends allow us to imagine a new paradigm of human development that is no longer defined by accumulation or individual performance, but by the leading role of human collectives in a permanent process of improving and increasing their economic prosperity, the quality of relationships, reciprocity, care for life and structural justice.