Abstract

MUNCK, Ronaldo. La teoría crítica del desarrollo: resultados y prospectiva. Migr. desarro [online]. 2010, vol.8, n.14, pp.35-57. ISSN 1870-7599.

In the current conjuncture there is much talk about <<the collapse of globalism>> and a move <<beyond the Washington Consensus>> as the dominant global neo- liberal order enters a crisis of legitimacy. It is thus a good moment to (re)engage with the genealogy and current prospects for a critical development theory or, rather, theories. In the 1990s, capitalist triumphalism saw the neoliberal approach to development in unchecked full flow and it seemed that <<there was no alternative>> as the gurus of neo-liberalism preached. Now we are presented with an opportunity to offer development alternatives that would have real popular purchase. Critical theory's embrace of a <<post-development>> which read the whole development enterprise as illusion left no viable challengers to orthodox development theory in the field. While state-led development in the traditional mode, including its radical variant, had little purchase in an increasingly internationalised world order, the issue of development as theory and practice to overcome poverty and inequality has not gone away as a vital global concern. The question today is whether a revitalised critical development theory can meet these challenges.

Keywords : development; critical theory; dependency theory; post-development; neo-liberalism.