67

Developnent Communication International Perspective

66 S N9¢2 three pers pectives
the developing theory It evolved through
that explains the realities of thedependencydecacde. the situation where
Essentially, it refers
to
the dependency theory
it mechanically to the during the past do not pärticipatëin
the
countries in a glob: m a n n e r and applies tructure of a country's population
It concludes that the supers largesections activities df that country.
ideological superstructure. political
must be dependent
because the economy is, forgetting
that corre
social, cultural, economic and
was used for the firsttimeby
Germani,
infrastructure and superstructure,
between The conceptof marszinality situation of people
spondence between and to describe the
(1973)
cultural process, is not
mechanical
Quijano and Weffot such
without basic services,
political, economic and is the result of extremely in marginal sections of the city
linear but superstructural phenomena living underemployment,andinsuf
articulation of productive practices.
sbad housing, unernploymentand and services considered
complex have access to goods
contended that there is hetero- ficient income to of living. This
Cardos (1971) and Santos (1974) acceptable standard
an
The dependency theorists minimum for maintaining in the political
geneity in the dependencyliteratureitself. the "dependency" is without education, participation
the theoretical ambiguities in ay t population processes. So
here is one
are debating o v e r
naive to transform the and outside the productive with
that it is processes
into the social life
contrasted
notion itself. They have argued
t is not section of society not integrated
notion of dependency into
a n all-embracing concept.
whose productivity and activity
is re flected
define the theory of dependency adequately. 'Depen- the integrated secto and active participation in
the social
possible to to the in its standard of living
dency" as defined currently is only political expansion cultural and political life
of society.
of interna- the
periphery mode of production whenjrEes stages In the context of d:velopment
the emphasis is on integrating
the prod uctive sector of society.
tional expansion.
marginal sector intc that the concept of marginality
has its
Germani (1973) indicates

Basic Needs Model of DeveléementRAK roots in three proce sses to the

7
Va) the process of cxtending theas rights of m a n according
globdperspective for consciouS
Theinterdependent approach adyocated
a well as increacing
and Iliberty
principles of equaliry
that develbRi aouhtKes mustdevelop of these principles;
deveiopment and implied of the deve ness or awareness of violations
conceptualization of
economic and politicat realities and the
in the context of the b ) the process of cultural contact
was the "Depen
of this approach anthropologists; andd
cultural marginality generated by
offshoot
loped countries. The researchers in modernization and its
extension
Model," where development
dency Development
faced with the problem of underdeve. C)the process of increasing within traditional regions of the west.
developing countries were
relations created by the imposition of outside the west and even to the idea that the
gave rise
lopment due to dependency
realities of the developed counl ries. The (Thus the concept of marginality
the right to enjoy the products
ot society be
the economicand political depressed groups have
is the theory of Marginality, other results of modern
outgrowth of the Dependency theory
values or any
it goods, services, cultural
dependency relationships. The that
so change is
of
referring to the consequences mandue to dependency relation- ization. The dominant group must cooperate
The evident
ual extension of these producty.
marginal position of the possible throughgrad
common
Model' (BNM). is one of
ships necessitatedthe need for the "Basic Needs underlying attitude is paternalistic and the approach
that the BNM approach is a
But it will be fallacious to assume giving to the needy. of
is rather essential element of of marginality and the process
development strategy by itself. It
an treatment
However, the
the development strateg/. marginalization in recent years suggests deeper
sociological prob.
patterns or growth underlying wiis that it attributed to different
be
One of the criticisms of the Dominant Paradigm lems. The plenomena of marginalitycan
the of develop-
actually favours western nations alternative people the Basic
than countries.
factors in various developing
more
ofeconomicmargin-
ng countries. In the search
for an paradigm, n Latin Americancountries the phenomena

model be :ause it is of nationaleconomic systems that are subjected

was described as a nor-western
Needs Model
countries.
ality is the product
industrialized nucleus of
transnational corpora-
concerned with the needs of the
ostensibly developing to a hegemonic
economic marginality
and African countries the
tions. In Asian
The theory of marginality: As stated earlier, thisis an outgroiwih ol
68
Development Communicatj0m Interational Perspective 69
may be due to the rural-urban gap and centralization non-material goods for quality of life once the material needs
ol power. are
This concept reveals two
polanzed positiors but the polarized satistied. In 1976ILOgaveshapeto thiscommitmentand adopted
systems are in fact two parallel systems. The concepts of periphery the Basic Minimum Need ModelEMN).
and marginality are essential for construction of The success of this development model depended on a variety of
a theory of
underdevclopment. The periphery is thhat pcsition ot ecunomic factors: the level of people's awareness of their environments
pace which is characterized by backward technology witlh conse. resource availability, means to satisfy the needs, thcir perceptions
quent low remuneration to the labour force and/or by advance of the level of development achieved, and the perceptions of the
technology withlittle capacity to abscrb the mass of the population planners and decision-makers.
into the modern sector. These "excess human inasses" created The ILO stressed the typology of the needs essential fordevelop
by ment. These are: normative needs, felt needs, expressed needs or
the very process of economic process are "marginals" or the hav
nots. dema nds, and comparative negds. The normative needs are mini
mum levels of health, nutrition, etc. Without these, developrnent
1he conent will be hampered. Second, there are felt needs, i.e.people's percep
of marginility nd devrloument: Theattributed causesof tions cf their own needs. Third, expresscd needs or demands are
underdeyelopment are that the marginal sector is devoid of basic
needsand peopleare living bulow subsisVEnce level This happei madeby the people on the of their felt necds. Fourth, there are
basis
because a few people dominate the economic scene and reap the comparative needs. These are imputed needs of a group not in
advantages.Therc is rio political participationa: it is dominatud byy receipt of services but relevant in characteristics to other groups
a few. There is no social participation because f cultural (ILO Report, 1976, p. 32).
imposi. In 1976, the Basic Human Needs approach was proclaimed by
tion. Cultural impositions may be of an alicn d minant culture or
subculture of urban elites, etc. They are out of the cconomie former World Bank president Robert McNamara in his famous
production process because the present industrialization of the Nairobi speech. Soedjatmoko in 1976 developed this further and
country may not have enough jobs for a specific type of labuur solidified its applicability to developing nations as an attack oon
force. poverty both absolute and relative.
The incapacity of the earlier development stri.tegies to deal with Jussawala and Beal (1982) pointed out that the point of difference
in this apPproach as compared. to other approaches is that. the
problems of poverty through trickle-down eltorts of economic
growth led to the Basic Needs Model approach 1o development as emphasis is shifted from measuring income percapita as agro wth
indicator to measuring the physical qualitv oflife (PQL as the
direct attack un poverty both absolute and relative.
indicatorofveltare.=QLTTSmeasured by life expectancy, nutri
tion, ir fant mortality, literacy and housing. There is increased
Th basic needs model ofdelopment -A framerU Ik: The B.riloch
Foundation in Argentina (1972) first developed a world anodel to emphasis on the importance of equity, distribution of rewards,
show the feasibilityof meeting the basic needs of peoplealleoverthe quality of life and meeting basic human needs. Implicit in these and
world on the basis of certain assumptions regarding resturce explicit in other indicators is the important variable of access to
information and information is the primary source for develop-
availability and environmental constraints. This approach was ment.
subsequently endorscd by many de velopment theorists, by the At laterstages, the concept of BMN was broadened to include
Dag Hamarskjold Foundation, and by the Cocovac Declaration of non-material human needs to give quality of life to the poor once
1975. the material needs are satisfied.
The conmmon aspect of these efforts is the insistence.that deve- Attrilbuted itusesofunderdevclopment in the BMN model: The asSsump-
opment must enhance the welfare of the poor and satisfy mini- tion is that in developing countriesthe marginal sector of society
mum needs. It was
anattempt.to deal directly w th world poverty is barely surviving. These are the poorest of the poor. Their
bymeeting the.basic.eds ofthe lowest4O%incainegruups in the
ficldsoffoodnutrition. health, rducation and housing through preoccupation is income for survival so they cannot participate in
the development process)
cmplöynment andinom,This concept includod satistaction o
70 Development Communicatior international Perspectitve

According to this model, the organization of the poor themselves track and the normal development track for this group has to run

is necessary prerequisite for development. Such organization

a concurrently to avoid any further development gap.
serves three purposes: first, to participate in planning and utiliza-
tion of a place in the community life; second, to overcome the mere Commun1cation model in bas1c need model: The experence in vanous

survival strategy; and third, to breakthe pattern of powerlessness, developing countries has shown that basic services are utilized
exploitation, permanent indebted ness, and a state of dependency well only itthey become an integral part of self-organization and
bordering on slavery?
self-management capacity of urban and rural poor through decen-
There is a lack of appropriate macro policy framework for tralization and integrated rural development.
development. Soedjatmoko (1978:11) argued that such policies Decentralization is important to open the way towards village
should include the ad option of development and equity as deve autonomy and active village participation in development plan
lopmentgoals of equal importance as growth. It also means the ning and implementation. Many governmental programmes in
determination of multiple growth goals, a commitment to deve- this regard are directed towards the individual.villager. This
opment from bottom-up, to local self-reliance, community and further atomizes the villagerather than stimulating organization.
grass-root organization and participation in planning, decision Government programmes in these countries also ignore the
making and implementation in areas affecting these cominunities, existing patterns of sccial stratification and the desirability for the
and realloeation of national funds for health, education and hous
poorest villagers to organize themselves for improving local bar-
ing in favourof the lowest 40% income. In the developing countries, gaining positions in the defence or promotion of their specific
social structure is another cause of marginality of the disadvan interests.
taged sector.
The integrated rural development through the basic needs ap-
There is a communication gap and information poverty among proach needs structural reformsin order to overcome impediments
the have-nots due te the gap in the socio-economic benefitsof
for effective implementation. This implies land reform, improved
development between the have and the have-nots. Such gaps
land tenure practices, caste retorms, and economic revitalization ot
could be responsible for the underdevelopment of the have-nots.
the rural and urban marginal sector.
In the large, populous Decentralization and rural integrated development in this model
Developing countries' efforts for development: suggesttwo-way Communication, both top-down and bottom-up,
third world countries, an unusually high growth rate and rapidly
in the development infrastructure. The top-down communication
expanding modem sector may not absorb large labour surpluses is from the governm:nt to the masses for awareness of the basic
resulting from modernization of agriculture. Therefore, irrespec
amenities provided, and to operationally facilitate what is being
tive of whether a strategy is pursued of growth before income trom
distribution, growth with income distribution, o r income distribu-
provided by the government. A bottom-up communication
the people to the fur ctionaries is necessarv for need-based pro.
tion before growth, in these countries a special effort is being made
&rammes
to successhully eliminate absolute poverty. for the The basic needs approach requires ind ustrial policies giving
Special-track development schemes being planned
are
priority to labour intensive. industries and labour intensive pro-
relatively poor and such schemes get priority in the development duction processes that are compatible with the requirements of
plans. The absolutely poor cannot be helped by a generalized basie
need approach. The developmentstrategy is to have a specialtrackfor efficiency. It requires policies favouring
rural enterprises and use
developing this segment to overcome the specific mental, physical of local resources anc man power for such enterprises. The deve-
and social debilities. associated with absolute poverty and become lopment of rural entecprises wvould control urban migratiwn of the
responsive to the opportunity offered through the basic n2ed ap- rural poor as well as raise the standard of living of the rural poor.
proach and to the community activities which make these facilities Urban mig ration of the rural p0or in search of productive occupa
tion has always been a problem tor marginality.
meaninghul. This special track is essenial, otherwise the main devel
opment process will be on a weak foundation. Moreover,
the special The communication in this context is top-top fur the formulation
of rural industrial policies, from top-bottom for involving and
72
Developnment Communication International Perspective 73
educating the rural poor for the use of local
bottom for the feasibility of resources, and bottom- blocknge to the poor and the have-nots. There is also danger of
using local resources forthe satisfaction "infor mation blockage" among interpersonal channels due to vested
of local basic minimum needs.
interests.
BMN approach needs an increasing number of non In the context of the BMN model,
linkages between the modern and the rural sector exploitative Soedjatmoko (1976) focussed
and develop- on the need to define
macro-policies for communication. The
ment of a network of
agricultural
and transport facilities) support services, road systems, Fo
efforts to meet the basic needs and to affect the required attitudinal
o f Cffors.

Thisapproach calls for institutional reform at the in

chang
es
requireofunprecedented inflow of information into the
national level capable
villag:fore, reaching the poorest of the villagers as well.
and macro economic.policies that are supportive for it. Without V There it is necessary to develop programmes designed to
them any achievement in rural
developmer1t will eventually be transiorm the villagefrom the traditional society into an "informa-
wiped out. This approach is always seen as a means towards the tion community" of a new kind. Ploman (1979) argued that
equitable distribution of income as well as of the development information flow in this respuctçannot be unidirectional; it need be
burden. Shifts in patterns
basic needs would
ofgrowth coupled with an emphasis on atleasttwo-wayand preferably multi ways. The information flow
The
undoubtedly improve distributive effects. should be vertical as well as horizontal. The communication
decentralization of information networks and the democra- requirements of these two types of information will be different.
tization of their control would be essential is a need for
success of the BMN
precondition for the There two-pronged communication requirements for
development messages from below (from the people), based on the
approach. Thus, even wten absolute poverty
has been overcome, the basic needs perception of their felt needs. On the one hand, there is a need for
approach among the poor is
still essential. At that stage, besides the most an increase in the amount, range and kind of information needed
urgent ingredients of
such an approach (income, food, nutrition, health, withir the reach of rural; socially ineffective, and disadvantaged
including clean people. On the other hand, locally prod uced relevant information
water, etc.), there will be a need for community organizations and
activities to have access to relevant information in a sufficient is needed. The vertical flow involves providing physical and
operative accessibility by the government to the people through
quantity: these would become part of informational universe at the
regional and local level. This includes not oniy access to informa various communication channels.
tion, as well as information channels, but also to shared control Itis necessary that infumation thus provided should raise the
Over information channels. avareriess and aspirations for quality of life among the disadvan-
taged and poorsector.The developmentinformationshould motivate
Role of communication in basic necds model: ererging development them to organize themselves to express their felt needs to the devel
media and interpersonal chan- opment agencies. The communication effort is needed to educate
communication patterns: (Both mass
nels are used for achieving normative needs, felt needs, expressed people about the exploitative linkages both by making them aware of
needs, and comparative needs. There is more emphasis on inter their rights and the existing legislation to protect them.
personal channels than on media channels. The interpersonal
channels are used to intorm,eductëand motivate the masses with Construints of basic nceds model: The third-world countries in the
support from the mass media. The poor have low physical acces majority rejected the concept of basic needs though it had origi-
sibility to mass media becausé of low purchasing power or living nated in the third world itself and concerned the development of
in areas where reach of the media is low. The refore, the third world. The reversal in attitude was due to the manner in
govern- which the concept was being perceived and used bythe developed
ments indevelopingcountries providethem with community TV, .
countries indealing with the third world countries(The developed
radiosets, and newspapers, etc. and make use of satellites and
. countries tied theirforeign aid resources to basic nèeds projectsas
other improved methods ofbroadcasting,such as short-wave,to_ if they were more concerned about the poor than the elites in the
reachthe remote areas. But mere physical access does not help, it third world themselves, whereas social services to meet the basic
to have operative
is necessary accessibility to community media. needs, in fact, mainly required domestic and not foreign financing.
Such operative accessibility will safeguard against information
 Inter national Perspect :ue 75
74 Development Communicatiom
digms may remain unsolved, the industria! nations face the chal-
These attempts of developed countries thus reflected the desire to lenge of critically evaluating the existing economic order because
keep third world countries as non-competitive, largely pastoral their prosperity cannot be sustained by the increa_ing poverty in
societies, though a little better fed, housed and educated
the developing nations.
In this context, Gamini Corea (1981) argued that thedecisive
factor in changing the representativeness of developed countries to
the needs of developing countries would be not just the leverage
e New Paradig1n of Development
of third world countries 'bargaining but an awareness on
power
the part of developed countries about the future of their own
The first predominant approach to development was the Domi-
interest in reordering the framework of economic relations and
nantParadigm. The second predominant approach, the current
reordering of the international information flow. one, is called the "New Paradigm" of development- a participa-
In thenational context, the model has serious deficiencies.when tory approach to development communication.
it comes to reaching the abslutely poor. The basic needs could be
met in authoritarian or paternalistic ways and the unintended
paradigm of development: The models just dis-
a sense of and Emergence of nerw
results of such an approach are powerlessness
dependency. Moreover the simple provision of basic social ser cussed were all in some ways were reactions to the Dominant
the Dominant
Paradigm. Development programmes based on
vices does notautoma tically lead to their use by the pooringeneral. Paradigm were not achieving the anticipated results, leading to
Only if the poorer communities organize themselves and partici revisions. However, each of the three revisions focussed on a single
services then there'is
pate activelv in planning and utilizing these dimension of the development- the causes of underdevelop-
chance that facilities provided will be actually used.
ment. They did nct address the question of how an effective
It is that there is low community participation ainong the
argued development programme could be implemented. The
Dominant
n e w facilities o r
poorest as either the relevant information about in the 1950s and the New Paradigm in the 1970s were the
for Paradigm
opportunities does not reach them or their preoccupation the problem otimplemen-
income survival strategy is so much that they cannot physicaly only two paradigms whichemphasized
tation as well as analyzing the causes ot underdevelopment.
and mentally involve themselves in any development process. The current New P'aradigm is a reaction to alll development
done to
Soedjatmoko (1978a) pointed out that little has been models in the past and it tries to assimilate the various emphases
the national framework in which this approach needs
policy
study of all the other models. D:velopment theoris ts labelled it as the
to be implemented; its relationship to other national development
'new paradigm ot
development" because tor the tirst time, devel-
of the development
goals or to the economic-political dynamics have incorporated many
this Ploman (1979) pointed out that opment theorist n d practitioners
process itself. Arguing point, dimensions in the development model which were never empha-
the BMN model is not as yet seen as a substitute for development
sized before.
is and
strategy but as an expression of a particular emphas
a
that the New Paradigm of development is a
Roger (1976) argued
It becomes mean
particular approach to the developmnent process. meta-model as it consists ot various alternative pathways to
it is within the framework of the a r e a and
ingful only when set
development. One o r the other of combination ot these pathiwavs
the that are capable of
national development policies -

policies
such change in empha- couldbethe model forspecitic developing countries. Such a nmodel
dealing wvith the structural impediments to
sis. But development strategy which treats absolute poverty as
could fit their social, political, economic structure, nevds tor
residual poverty will not work. developnment, availability ot resources, and technology. The unify.
To sum up, irrespective of these constraints, the basic needs ing dimensions of these alternative models is "participation in
development". This approach attempts to integrate strategically a
approach has added to the conceptual and operntional tools of host of ideas related to development that has emerged in the past
development. integrated
The conflicting paradigms of development are being preached in suchas pupular participation. grass roots development,
fulfilment of
different contexts by afluent nations. While the conflict of para- use ot appropriateltechnology,
rural development,