Abstract
Promoting development is a moral project related to a certain conception of human wellness; however, on few occasions there is an inquiry on the moral content of the problems of development. The first part of this article distinguishes some moral dimensions of a number of aspects of development, including needs and human rights, distributive justice and the variable role of geographic space. In the second part, two case studies are presented; in them the moral basis of specific national strategies are explored. The first case is the United Kingdom, for which the Letter of the Citizens and the Report of the Commission on Social Justice are analyzed in a context of growing social inequality. The second case is South Africa, with the analysis of the Program of Reconstruction and Development introduced to combat poverty and racial inequality in the post-apartheid years. Although these contexts are different, in both cases the moral purposes are met with political and economic restrictions, making room for questions on the definition of quality of life. The article concludes with some reflections on the tension between particularity and universality in the statements of development.
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