Quotation: Rajiv Shah on Development

The Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has written an editorial published in Science magazine. I quote:

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO DESCRIBE THE GOAL OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT ONE IS TO think of it as changing a situation in which billions of people have access to the benefits of  science and technology while billions do not. Throughout history, some of the greatest successes in development have come from extending the reach of scientific and technological breakthroughs to those who lacked access. We must continue to harness the ingenuity of the world’s top researchers and scientific leaders to achieve development goals.

I think that an important aspect of development is to increase the numbers of people in the world who benefit from modern medicine, highly productive agriculture, access to information through modern media, housing built to modern technical standards, ability to get around provided by modern transportation technology, etc.

On the other hand, I think are important aspects of development that not specifically related to science and technology such as living in a society that respects human rights, having the ability to express oneself and to have influence on one's government, and enjoying the heritage of one's artistic culture.