back from another developing country. The term 'Third World' or developing, is so illusory. The Human Development Index lists three bands, of development or progress. Sri Lanka for example, is ranked 93 of last, and India 127 of last. But yet, there are wide disparities in these two countries- consumer goods penetration is higher in India, road infrastructure is better in the capital cities, there is a better network of public transportation (railways and buses) across the country, there is a huge surge in upward class mobility due to the widespread cable tv penetration as well as the booming economy benefiting from outsourcing, there is a wider critical mass of educated English speaking workers unlike Sri Lanka. Yet, calculated on a 'per capita' basis, India lags far behind Sri Lanka.
In Bhutan, there is a 'happiness' index, to measure development.
Talking recently about the politics of foreign aid, and how aid is always conditional, though it may be years for those conditions to be articulated, demanded and met. Unconscious, whether it is imposing a 'value system' on those recipients, to conscious. And yet, there is one thing that makes the world go round and as I get older, i see it more and more, it is the almighty dollar and all that that implies. It is the currency of the world, whether in values, social issues or in economic might.
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