Foundational Theories



Foundational Theories

The Idea Behind It

Development communication is founded on an idea. The idea is, to put the modern media of social communication at the service of development. That sounds simple enough, but it needs some explaining.

About Development

Development is the big thing these days. Everybody's talking about it. Big chunks of money are spent in its name. Discussions of development are usually couched in economic terms. The economic goal is often described in terms of an increase in the Gross National Product or GNP, the sum total of goods and services produced by the country annually.

The goal has already been criticized as inadequate. One of the big problems of underdeveloped countries is the maldistribution of available goods and services. It doesn't help much to increase the size of the “economic pie” if 90 percent of it still goes to only 10 percent of the people while the remaining 90 percent of the people whose total number increases more rapidly, continue to share in only 10 percent of the wealth produced. Their condition will not improve, but can only grow worse.

Responsible economists point out that the development goal should be not only to increase the production of wealth but also to improve its distribution. In other words, an increase in GNP, plus social justice, GNP alone won't do it. Seen in this light, the problem immediately goes beyond mere economics. And the point we want to make here is precisely that development means more than economic development. Even plain economic development involves more than economics. It requires an improved social organization. You need better social structures, relative peace and order, disciplined (and highly motivated) people, a skilled labor force, a dedicated civil service, a minimum of graft and corruption, a sensible tax structure, a wise government, etc.

A Total Approach

In short, development really means developing people. Then the people will change their environment, including their social and economic environment. We need a total human development approach, even if our immediate goal might be economic development. The latter, of course, is not the end in itself, but only a means to enable human beings to live more humanly. For a man may be rich and still live like a pig. Economic development doesn't help him.

Social Versus Mass

Now, let's talk about social communication. First, the word social. We say social communication advisedly. The more commonly accepted term is mass communication. In this book, the terms are used almost interchangeably. But there is really a difference in connotation.

The Social Communicator is interested in “mass communication” not for its own sake, but as a means of serving the development of people. Mass communication is a technique of reaching a large number of people with a message, all at once. Like many other techniques, it can be used for a-social, even anti-social, purposes. We are for its social use. One of the banes of modern mass production techniques despite their obvious benefits is that they tend to dehumanize people and turn them into ...