❖ Capitalist Development and the Crisis of Postcolonial Societies ❖
✍ By: [Author's Name]
In contemporary discourse, capitalist development is widely accepted as a natural and inevitable truth, especially within postcolonial societies. Yet, development under capitalism is not merely an economic model—it is a comprehensive worldview that reshapes social, cultural, and economic structures in its own image.
The notion that capitalism is a universal or eternal system is historically inaccurate. Capitalism is a product of specific historical conditions, emerging from modern Western civilization. When Western colonizers entered various regions, they did not merely transfer resources, but also implanted the capitalist lifestyle and its notion of development.
Capitalist development is based on a concept of the self that regards man as autonomous, sovereign, and self-determining. This conception originates from the Enlightenment, where Immanuel Kant declared freedom to be the fundamental right of human beings.
The capitalist notion of the individual is fundamentally based on freedom, where a person has the right to determine truth and good using their own rational faculties.
In the economic realm, Adam Smith and David Ricardo extended this idea by validating limitless human desires as natural and legitimate.
Gustavo Esteva explains that the term “development” originally emerged from botanical science, referring to the natural growth of living organisms. However, in the 19th century, Adam Smith transformed it into a core component of economics.
According to Gilles Deleuze, wherever capitalism goes, it deterritorializes—meaning it dismantles traditional structures and values.
In every region the Western colonizers entered, they not only extracted resources but also introduced capitalist values, lifestyles, and the Western concept of development.
The capitalist notion of development is not limited to economic expansion—it is a civilizational and intellectual transformation that displaces the foundations of traditional societies.
Postcolonial societies remain trapped, confused about their freedom and identity, yet deeply entrenched in the capitalist system that has stripped them of their original cultural essence.
✍ By: [Author's Name]
◈ Capitalist Notion of Development: A Global Assumption
In contemporary discourse, capitalist development is widely accepted as a natural and inevitable truth, especially within postcolonial societies. Yet, development under capitalism is not merely an economic model—it is a comprehensive worldview that reshapes social, cultural, and economic structures in its own image.
◈ Capitalism: A Historical Perspective
The notion that capitalism is a universal or eternal system is historically inaccurate. Capitalism is a product of specific historical conditions, emerging from modern Western civilization. When Western colonizers entered various regions, they did not merely transfer resources, but also implanted the capitalist lifestyle and its notion of development.
◈ The Capitalist Concept of the Self
Capitalist development is based on a concept of the self that regards man as autonomous, sovereign, and self-determining. This conception originates from the Enlightenment, where Immanuel Kant declared freedom to be the fundamental right of human beings.
- Kant emphasized that man should be free from religion, tradition, and any transcendent authority, making decisions solely on the basis of rational autonomy.
- Descartes, too, supported this idea through his famous dictum: “Cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am), which placed individual reason above all else.
- This line of thought cultivated anthropocentricity, placing human beings at the center of existence.
◈ The Capitalist Personality and the Ideal of Freedom
The capitalist notion of the individual is fundamentally based on freedom, where a person has the right to determine truth and good using their own rational faculties.
- For Enlightenment thinkers, freedom was the pinnacle of human dignity.
- Kant argued that denying freedom to an individual was tantamount to committing a crime against humanity.
In the economic realm, Adam Smith and David Ricardo extended this idea by validating limitless human desires as natural and legitimate.
- According to Smith, acquisitiveness is a natural human trait—and the driving force behind economic development.
◈ The Evolution of the Concept of Development
Gustavo Esteva explains that the term “development” originally emerged from botanical science, referring to the natural growth of living organisms. However, in the 19th century, Adam Smith transformed it into a core component of economics.
- Today, “development” is synonymous with endless production, industrial expansion, consumerism, and capital accumulation.
- Esteva argues that development has become a predetermined and unavoidable destiny, immune to critique.
◈ Deterritorialization and Reterritorialization
According to Gilles Deleuze, wherever capitalism goes, it deterritorializes—meaning it dismantles traditional structures and values.
- Capitalism undermines local traditions, languages, and moral systems, replacing them with economic-based identities.
- This restructuring is called reterritorialization, where a new capitalist identity is imposed on top of the original culture.
◈ Colonialism and Postcolonial Societies
In every region the Western colonizers entered, they not only extracted resources but also introduced capitalist values, lifestyles, and the Western concept of development.
- Traditional languages, ethics, and epistemologies were eroded and replaced with capitalist principles.
- The postcolonial individual finds himself in a dual crisis: believing he is free, while in truth he remains ensnared within the framework of capitalist development.
❖ Conclusion: A Civilizational Displacement ❖
The capitalist notion of development is not limited to economic expansion—it is a civilizational and intellectual transformation that displaces the foundations of traditional societies.
Postcolonial societies remain trapped, confused about their freedom and identity, yet deeply entrenched in the capitalist system that has stripped them of their original cultural essence.
