First Name:
Timothy
Last Name:
Hefflinger
Major Department:
Philosophy
Thesis Director:
Monique Lanoix
Date of Thesis:
May 2012
In this essay I will critically assess the concept of “discipline” that is invoked in mainstream economic development. Beginning with a narrative prelude designed to contextualize myself in such a discourse, I will seek to show how my personal experiences have informed my analysis. I will move on to discussing how the logic of mainstream development economics incorporates discipline. I call this logic “developmentality,” and argue that it progresses under a rather predictable pattern when instantiated in the world. I then analyze this discipline in line with the framework of discipline elucidated by Michel Foucault in his Discipline and Punish, arguing that the discipline invoked by mainstream economic development institutions is one modern exemplar of the discipline Foucault highlights as the motivator behind the creation of the modern prison system. I lend some concreteness to this argument by highlighting exactly how discipline is invoked in mainstream economic development projects around the world. Following this, I acknowledge two critical reactions to the work of Foucault from Gayatri Spivak and Nancy Hartsock, arguing that through these analyses we can recognize the shortcomings of Foucault’s approach. I then present my main argument, namely that the coercive discipline analyzed by Foucault and used by mainstream economic development institutions is ontologically distinct from another kind of discipline, which I call “self- discipline”. This self-discipline, I argue, is vital to the actualization of the central human functional capabilities, which I further argue form the bedrock of strong sustainable development.