This essay seeks to support the assertion that developing countries are responsible for their own

underdevelopment. It begins by defining the key concepts of the question which are development
and under development. It will also give an overview of what developing countries are and their
characteristics. It will further proceed by giving arguments to support the assertion. In
conclusion, the essay will then bring out concrete examples where possible basing on the facts
that will be established.
Development in human society, is a many sided process which at national level implies an
increase in production base resulting from efficiency in production, increase in the provision of
basic goods and services premised on equity and enhanced ability of man to develop to his full
potential through education and ability to think and express oneself freely while at individual
level it implies an increase in skill and capacity, greater freedom, creativity, self discipline,
responsible and material well being.
However, Seers (1969) as cited by Todaro defines development as the creation of conditions
necessary for full realization of human potential and in its evaluation it must account for three
inter related processes in a growing economy which are: a reduction in poverty, unemployment
and inequality. Underdevelopment on the other hand can be viewed as a process of cumulative
circular causation among such factors as low levels of living, low levels of income and low
levels of productivity.(Mydral: 1970).
Developing countries can be referred to as countries in the process of change directed towards
economic growth that is an increase in capital consumption and income. The process of
economic growth involves better utilization of natural resources, which result in a change of the
social, political and economic structure.
Developing countries are characterized by diversity but however they also share many common
characteristics. The following are some of the characteristics of developing countries; they have
low levels of living due to low incomes, inequality, and poor health and inadequate education.
They also posses low levels of productivity in terms of dependency burdens. These countries also
lack heavy industries and their economies are backward, often aggregation economy, which
many times suffer unpredictable natural climatic conditions, for instance developing countries
found in Africa, Asia and Latin America are underdeveloped because of their over dependence
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on agriculture as a major activity. Other characteristics include low levels of employment,

existence of vicious circles of poverty which leads to low life expectancy and high levels of
illiteracy.(Todaro: 2003:80).
While other theories of development argue that the underdevelopment of developing countries is
caused by the external factors, this assertion is not true in that developing countries are actually
responsible for their own underdevelopment for the following reasons which can be termed as
internal factors.
With respect to high population growth rates, it constrains development in the following ways;
with regard to food security, rapid population growth pushes agricultural into less productive
areas leading to declining agricultural production. In terms of inadequate social services, the
growth exerts pressure on the available limited resources such as health, education, housing and
clean water. This has serious implication for poverty especially in the urban context. Considering
the aspect of unsustainable development, the rapid population growth has exceeded the rate of
economic growth or ability of developing country to provide their population with basic needs.
This also has negative implications for sustainable development due to the use of inappropriate
technologies. As much as there is an increase in population, unemployment is also increasing,
Kenya for example, according to Arkhurst (1967), has a large reservoir of unemployment and its
increasing population makes the task of reducing unemployment more difficult. A great deal of
ignorance also exists among these densely populated areas in respect to economic and social
structures that actually helps in minimizing the incentives of economic change in these under
developed countries. Due to the lack of adequate educational setups, these countries are
backward in terms of technical skills and the illiteracy level tends to be high and hence we find a
situation where the majority at large does not participate in the development process instead, they
remain aversive to change which is very unhelpful.
Developing countries also lack proper projects that can help reduce the rapid population growth.
For instance, China has come up with measures to prevent population from growing exceedingly
more than what the economy at large can produce, in terms of income. A one-child family system
has been adopted and this has brought more development to china. (Todaro: 2003)

With respect to agriculture, there is too much dependency on it such that it has been regarded as
a major activity rather than the industrial sectors which are of good returns in terms of income. In
the African context, Africa is regarded as a home of indigenous diseases that afflict both humans
and animals. The fact that most underdeveloped countries lack modern technology to use in the
Agriculture industries means that, they will resort into animal use as cheap labour. However,
once the diseases for instance the animal carrying tsetse fly which is found all over the continent
find its way into animals that developing countries resort to, they die and this adds more to the
ineffective hindrances of development in terms of production. Other natural disaster also
devastates food production in the southern region. Recently in Madagascar, cricket devastated all
the agricultural crops. (Simensen: 2009).
The existence of poverty which is also an internal factor is greatly contributing to the
underdevelopment in developing countries. In areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America
where financial problems and economic stagnancy exist, people lived below the poverty line.
Economic development also has much to do with human endowments social attitude and
political conditions implying that underdevelopment is a man made problem for which man
made solutions needs to be found, (Nurkse).
Monumental stone constructions and local written traditions like those found in advanced
cultures elsewhere in the world are also lacking especially in African countries and this can also
be regarded as a source of development.
The political instability also accounts for many of the underdevelopment in developing countries.
National endeavors have been hampered by internal conflicts, civil wars, and at worst, a form of
anarchy as can be seen in the Congo DR. We find recently built buildings being destroyed due to
the same conflict arising. Conflict hampers development, as the country is seen to be back
tracking and is taken many years backwards from the destruction.
We can also consider the civil war in Afghanistan which arose in 1979. The consequent civil
wars destroyed much of the countrys limited transportation, infrastructure, and disrupted normal
patterns of economic growth. Gross domestic product had fallen significantly because of loss of
labour and capital and disruption of trade and transport. The continuing internal conflict

disadvantaged the domestic effort and reconstruction as well as international aid efforts, (Bagchi:
1982).
The other example is that of the Rwandan genocide of 1994, a civil war between Tutsis and the
Hutus caused by increasing imbalance in land, food and people that led to malnutrition, hunger,
periodic famine and fierce competition for land and farm. Due to the outbreak of this civil war,
Rwanda today struggles to heal and rebuild its destroyed infrastructures. (Magnerella: 2005).
Nigeria on the other hand, and in particular the Niger Delta which has suffered vandalism of
pipelines, have all the components of failed development due to the existence of deep poverty,
unequal distribution of income, corruption, disenfranchised ethnic minorities, environmental
degradation, destruction of livelihoods, gang violence, civil strife, and the unresponsive
governments. Furthermore, due to the many forms of oil generated environmental pollution
evident throughout the region, farming and fishing have become impossible or extremely
difficulty in oil-affected areas and even drinking water has become scarce, (Khakee: 2008).
The Angolan civil war which took place immediately just after the independence war ended in
1975 can also be cited as an example. A war in which Jonas Savimbi, a leader of the National
Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) who was promoting democracy fought against
Agostinho Neto, leader of the Marxist Popular Movement for Liberation of Angola (MPLA) who
on the other side supported communism. A lot of blood was shed and this contributes to the
hindrance in development because even the people that greatly contributed to the development
process were killed, (McCarthy: 2008).
Another area of consideration is the civil in Sierra Leone. Diamonds, oil and the greedy for
money are the causes of and continue to fuel these conflicts. Corrupt warlords wanted a piece of
the action diamond trade for themselves and were not overly concerned about who gets killed in
the process. Initially, the country produced 2.5 million carats of diamonds the year before the
civil war broke out and now, some mining officials estimated a 220 million dollar loss in revenue
to the nations economy. Diamonds were a lucrative source of foreign currency for the
Government, and are now a source for the rebels. Sierra Leone which has produced some of the
worlds highest quality diamonds is today one of poorest nations on earth because of its
instability, (Watson: 2001).
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Terrorism which can be defined as violence against civilians to achieve political or ideological
objectives by creating fear is also a cause of under development. Where terrorism exists, the
process of development is hindered in that foreign investments, trade and exchange of goods and
services which are keys for under developed states comes to a halt because of terrorists activities.
The economic injustice also contributes to under development since it involves the states failure
to provide individuals with basic necessities of life, such as adequate food, housing and health
services.
Another major contributing factor to poor economic performance in many developing countries
is their level of dependence on one or two primary export commodities. This in itself is a
problem in that primary commodities drives from price fluctuations which characterize these
commodities on the international markets, for example Zambias export revenue fell by almost
half in 1975 when the price of copper collapsed on the world market. It is much dependent on
one or two primary export commodities which make developing countries extremely vulnerable
to external shocks, (Todaro: 1981).
The other attribute to underdevelopment is that developing countries lack investments in people,
According to the World Bank (1990), the rapid population growth has caused serious concern
about the outlook for economic growth, human development and the environment in developing
countries. Many governments in developing countries are investing far too little in people.
Markets in developing countries also do not provide people, especially the poorest with adequate
education, health nutrition and family planning services. With respect to education, it plays a key
role in the process of development in that schools prepare people for active participation in the
economic and political setups. It gives them knowledge to make responsible judgments, the
motivation to make appropriate contribution to the well being of society and a consciousness
about the consequence of their behavior; in short education reduces the levels of ignorance,
(Holger: 2001).
The aspect of cutting ties with the western world also hinders the development of developing
countries; this is due to the fact that they need technological assistance that can be used to
improve their development process. Brazil, Japan and the Republic of Korea are example to

confirm that linking domestic economy with international economy increases the prospects of
development in developing countries, (Kamrava: 1993:193)
Many African states today are corrupt with respect to leadership. This is because everyone wants
what is best for oneself. Corruption varies and it basically includes bribery, exortortion, nepotism
and embezzlement just to mention a few. By definition, it is the abuse of public power for
personal ends. To cite Zambia as an example, cases of corruption have been reported. For
example, the recent case of the former ministry of health permanent secretary, Kashiwa Bulaya
who allegedly diverted public funds which was meant to carter for the health sector. Such acts
may lead to shortages of medicine in hospitals, and this may bring about deaths which in return
reduce human labour to development. As a result of the act, the donors also withheld the money
which was to carter for the health sectors, (Kaunda: 2008). Corruption is one of the major
obstacles to development progress in that it contributes to a large extent to ensuring that
fundamental needs such as food, health education, are not met. Furthermore, Corruption has
several deleterious effects on economic development, it breeds inefficiency and waste aggravates
the budget deficit problems, it also drives potential foreign investors away and this leads to
contraction and collapse, (Ibid).
With respect to nepotism and tribalism which is also a form corruption, according to Chiposa
(1993) as cited by Hope and Chikulo, during the second republic of Zambia, cases of tribalism
and nepotism where common. For instance Dr. Chiluba dismissed all senior personnel in the
armed forces, civil service, intelligence and parastatal organization and replaced them with his
financiers and supporters. The dismissed public servants were replaced mostly by individuals
from Dr. Chilubas Bemba speaking ethnic group. This has a negative effect in respect to
development due to the fact that unqualified people are put in certain positions in which their
contribution towards development is not effective due to lack of adequate knowledge. Most
African states have become so corrupt to the extent that courageous individuals that expose the
problems of corruption are either jailed or killed by the corrupt leaders themselves. It can
therefore be said that corruption causes underdevelopment and poverty in particular, (Ibid).
In conclusion, developing countries are responsible for their own underdevelopment. This is
because all of the factors, basically internal are caused by themselves and as such they can not
put the blame on others. For example, the lack of good educational setups greatly contributes to
6

high levels of illiteracy hence giving rise to a high rates of population growth which at the same
time remains aversive in respect to development. There is too much dependence on one or two
primary export commodities and also too much reliance upon agriculture as a major activity but
yet using traditional technological skills. The civil wars existing in developing countries like the
Congo DR, Rwanda, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Angola are self-inflicted and such
activities reduces the level of development in their own countries. The aspect of cutting off ties
which are in session with the developed countries is also contributing to the underdevelopment
of developing countries in that developing countries can not just depend on themselves in terms
of finance and technology, instead the donor funds and technological assistance from developed
countries will be of great help in respect of development. Lastly, the developing countries are
corrupt in their governance and this erodes the little resources available for the development and
at the same time, other dimensions of development are not catered for such as the educational
aspect, health aspect and environmental aspect just to mention a few.
In conclusion, developing countries are responsible for their own underdevelopment. This is
because all of the factors, basically internal are caused by themselves and as such they can not
put the blame on others. For example, the lack of good educational setups greatly contributes to
high levels of illiteracy hence giving rise to a high rates of population growth which at the same
time remains aversive in respect to development. There is too much dependence on one or two
primary export commodities and also too much reliance upon agriculture as a major activity but
yet using traditional technological skills. The civil wars existing in developing countries like the
Congo DR, Rwanda, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Angola are self-inflicted and such
activities reduces the level of development in their own countries. The aspect of cutting off ties
which are in session with the developed countries is also contributing to the underdevelopment
of developing countries in that developing countries can not just depend on themselves in terms
of finance and technology, instead the donor funds and technological assistance from developed
countries will be of great help in respect of development. Lastly, the developing countries are
corrupt in their governance and this erodes the little resources available for the development and
at the same time, other dimensions of development are not catered for such as the educational
aspect, health aspect and environmental aspect just to mention a few.

In conclusion, developing countries are responsible for their own underdevelopment. This is
because all of the factors, basically internal are caused by themselves and as such they can not
put the blame on others. For example, the lack of good educational setups greatly contributes to
high levels of illiteracy hence giving rise to a high rates of population growth which at the same
time remains aversive in respect to development. There is too much dependence on one or two
primary export commodities and also too much reliance upon agriculture as a major activity but
yet using traditional technological skills. The civil wars existing in developing countries like the
Congo DR, Rwanda, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Angola are self-inflicted and such
activities reduces the level of development in their own countries. The aspect of cutting off ties
which are in session with the developed countries is also contributing to the underdevelopment
of developing countries in that developing countries can not just depend on themselves in terms
of finance and technology, instead the donor funds and technological assistance from developed
countries will be of great help in respect of development. Lastly, the developing countries are
corrupt in their governance and this erodes the little resources available for the development and
at the same time, other dimensions of development are not catered for such as the educational
aspect, health aspect and environmental aspect just to mention a few.