Class Discussion Questions
Barder recommends resisting engineering as a policy implication for two reasons. First, he says that evolutionary processes outperform the design of the product. This means that it is difficult to create a product that properly adapts to the change within the environment. Second, he says that it is “generally impossible to presict what wil happen as a result of a particular change. That makes engineering solutions almost impossible.” In order to create technology that develops human beings properly, it is important to “harness” evolutionary processes by understanding them further. He mentions isomorphic mimicry to explain this concept in biological terms. For example, Barder mentions that animals with the appearance of looking poisonous have an increased chance of survival than those that actually are poisonous. This concept parallels Darwin’s theory of natural selection. Similarly to the poisonous animals, policies are continuously made to appear like they make a major difference, but in reality they are completely ineffective and unecessary. Barder wants to ensure that policies are made to develop those in need of equal opporutnity, not solely for economic gain.
Barder compares South Korea and Ghana to represent the major difference in economic grwoth between two countries. Throughout the 1960s, Ghana and South Korea had very similar income rates. But, by 2010, both countries were vastly different. This difference represents the “multidimensional nature of poverty and development.” In the beginning of the presentation, Barder questions why Ghana did not experience the same economic growth as South Korea, even though they both had very smilar numbers throughout the late 20th century. Barder also mentioned the Harrot-Domar model, which was unable to provide information about why this difference occured. Based on this economic mode, there is no real explanation for why South Kore and Ghana had major differences in econmic grouth. Thorughout his presentation, Barder explains the missing ingredients as the sole purpose of understanding human development as a whole.