Human concept of growth<\/p>\n
President Soeharto, in his annual National Day Address to the
\nHouse of Representatives, likes to cite not only economic but
\nalso social indicators in relation to the people's welfare. In
\nhis latest address of state, last Wednesday, the President cited
\nvarious economic indicators of the impressive achievements of the
\nnation's economic development over the past 25 years, such as the
\nincrease in the gross domestic product, per-capita income and
\nprogress in various sectors of the economy.<\/p>\n
However, his account also detailed progress in the other
\naspects of human development, such as life expectancy, school
\nenrollment, literacy, health and women's participation in the
\nlabor force.<\/p>\n
Thus the holistic development paradigm which has been promoted
\nby the United Nations through its annual Human Development Report
\nand Human Development Index and by many other multilateral
\ndevelopment agencies is not something new to Indonesia. In fact,
\nthe final goal of Indonesia's national development is based on
\nthe broadest perspective of human development; that is, a just
\nand materially and spiritually prosperous society. The government
\nplans to achieve the final goal on the basis of three pillars:
\ngrowth, equity and stability.<\/p>\n
The formidable task, though, is how to realize the proclaimed
\nideal through stages of development which in Indonesia are
\ndivided into five-year development plans. Obviously, as the
\ndevelopment process has reached only the second year of the sixth
\nfive-year development plan, there is still a wide gap between the
\nlong-term ideal and the reality.<\/p>\n
Having said that, we do not wish to imply that the process of
\ndevelopment in Indonesia has always been fully on the right path
\ntowards the final goal. As the President himself admitted last
\nweek, mistakes have sometimes occurred. The government, faced
\nwith competing short and medium-term objectives, has sometimes
\ndeparted from the path towards the ideal. On occasion it has made
\ngrowth the top priority at the expense of equity. At other times,
\nstability has been given precedence over the other two
\nprinciples.<\/p>\n
Indeed, it is not so easy to strike a harmonious equilibrium
\nbetween the three principles. The fact is that no sustained
\nimprovement in human well-being is possible without economic
\ngrowth. However, high economic growth rates do not automatically
\ntranslate into higher levels of human development.<\/p>\n
The 50th anniversary of our national independence is a good
\nopportunity, not only to revise upwards the targets of our sixth
\nfive-year development plan, but also to plan more concerted
\nefforts towards achieving a more desirable link between economic
\ngrowth and human development.<\/p>\n
While the government has made human resource development one
\nof the top priorities in development programs, its concept has
\nbeen more in the terms of human resources as an input of
\nproduction and not yet in the broadest perspective that fully
\nencompasses productivity, equity, sustainability and empowerment.<\/p>\n
Human development in the broadest sense requires, not only
\nlarge investments in education and health, but also the
\nachievement of a more equitable distribution of income and assets
\nand the provision of more social services by the state.<\/p>\n
The empowerment of the people, as certain ministers have
\npronounced more than once but without clear meaning, means
\nenabling the people to exercise choices in the political, social
\nand economic spheres. These are, we think, some of the issues
\nwhich need to be mulled over in the process of revising the
\ntargets of the current five-year development plan.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-concept-of-growth-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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