Respect the Poor“? Postkoloniale Perspektiven auf Armut

Abstract

Abstract

„Respect the Poor“ – Postcolonial Perspectives on Poverty. In contrast to being empowering, modernity constructs „the poor“ as low consuming individuals living in material scarcity without access to an adequate wage. This article presents a postcolonial and post-development critique of the discursive effects and normative grounds of the concept of poverty. It denounces the „state of nature“ myth, which is inherent to the construction and blind to the social embedment of a basic needs subject. Making the poor an object of scientific inquiry furthers their disempowerment and undermines their self-esteem. Postcolonial theorists criticize the standardized methods of measuring poverty for their dismissal of the larger historical and social contexts from which marginalization in the postcolonial world has evolved. In contrast, post-development proponents challenge the economic defi nition of poverty by juxtaposing it with communitarian ethical conceptions of a good life. They stress discursive self-representation as a field of struggle. Both modes of critique challenge the moral premises of Sen’s capability theory. Moreover, they dispute the ethnocentrism of the operationalisation of Sen’s approach. Finally, the article discusses the Millennium Development Goals, which have put poverty reduction back on the development agenda, and sheds light on their inherent contradictions and blind spots.