Balancing Tradition and Development: A deliberative procedure for the evaluation of cultural traditions in development contexts

Abstract

Is economic progress always the preferable option, even if it leads to the loss of local traditions? Or should local traditions be protected from Western ideas of progress? I attempt to find a middle ground between these two positions and argue that traditions per se are neither good and worthy of protection, nor bad and obsolete. Rather, traditions can have both positive and negative aspects and must therefore be assessed on a case-by-case basis. I criticize a conservative view of tradition that does not allow for change and argue that traditions can be positive if they enhance the wellbeing of human beings and decrease their dependence upon others. But traditions can also be negative if they restrict the wellbeing of human beings and increase their dependence upon others. Based on these criteria, I develop a deliberative procedure that can assist communities – and especially Indigenous communities – to evaluate their cultural traditions in order to decide whether to accept or reject development projects.