Values and development in Southern Africa / edited by Hans Müller, Pinkie Mekgwe, Marvellous Mhloyi.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Müller, Hans.

Mekgwe, Pinkie.

Mhloyi, Marvellous.

Codesria.

Series:

Codesria book series.

Codesria book series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Africa, Southern--History.

Africa, Southern.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (266 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Dakar, Senegal : Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Development has been on Africaís agenda for a long time but progress has been both varied and limited, partly due to the diverse levelsof the discussions ont he challenges and the interventions for tackling them. Africaís greatest challenge is the uneven development within and between its countries, and the pressing issues of extreme poverty in southern Africa, and the continent as a whole. Poverty causes its victims to suffer social exclusion and political repression. In addition, societies that experience poverty are also mostly under continuous threat of ecological disasters and diseases. All poor people are therefore plagued by loss of freedom and dignity, and are often unable to participate effectively in the political, economic, legal and social processes of their countries. This book focuses on the social and cultural dimensions of development dynamics and, in particular, the role of values in shaping development. Values are at the core of the hopes and aspirations of individuals, communities and societies. The book therefore explains the values that motivate and inform African communities and societies, with a view to facilitating a dialogue about sustainable development in Africa among academics, intellectuals, policy and decisionmakers, and the communities. It also investigates the social and cultural dynamics of development in Africa, as a better alternative to earlier studies that blame African culture for poverty and exclude the people of Africa in their definition of developments in the continent. The significance of this book lies in its provision of a theoretical argument, from empirical perspective, on the role of values in the development of Africa; an argument that is capable of facilitating a dialogue about African development, which obviously proves more useful than either the imposition of a technical process or the announcement of a normative framework.

Contents:

section I. Introducing the issues

section II. Theoretical reflections

section III. Exploratory empirical investigations.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9782869785656

2869785658

9782869785670

2869785674

OCLC:

849923928