View - ResearchGate

Nasir Khan, University of Auckland, New Zealand
as the standard to which is made to approximate as closely
as possible. This approximation process necessitates action
across all the three axes. Therefore in moving from level to
level , distance has to be covered from a to b on x-axis,
from c to d on y-axis and e to f on z-axis. These respective
distances on three axes also determine the scope of action
required across each space in approximating to .
This structural tweaking of a universal human development
agenda carries advantages over the MDG’s framework in
some crucial areas. First, the space of personal
circumstances accords informal institutions their proper role
which is not accounted for in a neo-classicist framework.
The incorporation of the conversion factor further reduces
this neo-classicist tinge by taking cognizance of the lag
between resources and people’s access to them. Without
discounting the role of the space of resources, it emphasizes
the dual role played by these two spaces by identifying the
loci of existing circumstances on the one hand and
significantly influencing the directionality of the progress
towards the threshold capabilities on the other.
Second, from the point of view of internalization of the
development project, both the configuration and gadgetry of
the framework is so formulated that it is capable of
identifying the stage of development at which local
population are considered capable enough to acquire the
ownership and determine the course of further development.
Within the capabilities space illustrated in the figure, this
end is achieved by marking coordinates on the axis of
personal circumstances to pinpoint a position beyond which
the local populations are considered capable enough to take
the ownership and command the rest of the trajectories of
development themselves. This restraints the externalities to
hold the system hostage, safeguards it against the global
shocks and indigenizes the initiative.
Third, as a concomitant to the second point, it ensures the
chalking out of a development project suited to the genius of
the people of the developing world rather than an
importation of the development apparatus excelled in the
West. At an embryonic stage of human development
prevailing in these societies, a development project needs to
be reflective of the realities of the local communities rather
than reinforcing the development designs rustled up in
165