Privilege, Privation and Proximity: "Eternal Triangle" for Development?

Abstract

International and domestic aid is conceptualised as a series ofinterlocking behavioural systems, from the dynamics of raising funds on the one hand to acquitting them on the other. Within each system, development assistance brings donor and recipient communities into close psychological proximity with each other's relative deprivation and privilege. Fund-raising advertisements bring deprivation directly into the donor public's homes, whilst Technical Assistance (TA) juxtaposes the expatriate's salary with that of the needy community (s)he has come to serve. According to much social psychology, the ensuing privilege, privation and proximity will foster both (a) victim blaming by potential donors and (b) withdrawal by potential hosts. Such psychosocial barriers to community development are becoming more salient with globalisation, and it is time for us to contribute towards their management.