JMJ

Notre Dame of Dadiangas University

Subject: STS

Worksheet # 9: Essay

Topic: Science, Technology and Human Flourishing

Name : Mj Rhonna Tabo-tabo Date 11-15-22

The students read the article “Forget ‘developing’ poor countries,

it’s time to ‘de-develop’ rich countries” by Jason Hickel

Write an essay regarding your thoughts on the article with

the following as guide questions:

• Why must we change our paradigm of growth and

consumption to that of “de-development”?

• Why are the terms de-development, de-growth, and zero growth

seemingly unacceptable to the usual framework of human progress.

• How have we been enframed by the notion of growth?

• How do we improve our lives and yet reduce consumption?

ANSWER: ESSAY

In his article "Forget 'developing' poor nations, it's time to 'de-develop' wealthy
countries," Jason Hickel makes the case that we should cease considering
growth to be the solution to ending poverty and instead work to persuade richer
countries to rein in their excesses. In my perspective, we need to shift from the
"growth and consumption" paradigm to one of "de-development" since growth
should be centered on maximizing human pleasure. Studying communities where
individuals live long, happy lives is important as well. The world economy also
needs to be sustainable. We must alter our perspective and concentrate on
de-development, where we can even consume less. As a result, quality has
replaced quantity as the more significant factor.

According to the article, the terms de-development, de-growth, and zero growth
simply imply that we must stop overconsuming and start using water and natural
 resources more minimally in order to prevent a shortage of such resources on
our planet. As a result, these terms seem incompatible with the conventional
framework of human progress. De-development and "de-growth" relate to poorer
countries catching up to the development of richer ones rather than the other way
around. Moreover, according to what those terms imply, this kind of structure
necessitates a high degree of development and ongoing high level of
improvement. I believe that we have been surrounded by the notion of growth
because of all the current improvements. It reflects the level of prosperity a
country's citizens perceive it to be. This notion embodies our concept that growth
and development are interrelated. Last but not least, its growth has no adverse
effects.

Based on what I have learned from Jason Hickel’s article, it will always be up to
us to improve our lives and reduce consumption because we are the only ones
who can choose the type of life we wish to lead. We must start to reframe and
modify our habits in order to enrich our lives and simultaneously reduce
consumption. focusing less on our desires and recognizing the demands that
would last a long time in our possession would be beneficial if we were able to
recognize our needs.