Crocker, David (2007). "Goulet on Development Ethics and Non-elite Participation" Paper presented at the 4th annual conference of the HDCA, 18-20 September 2007, New York, USA.

One of the ideas that has changed the recent history of development theory and practice has been development ethics -- ethical reflection on the ends and means of local, national, and global development. One of the pioneers of this interdisciplinary field was Denis Goulet. In this paper I address four interrelated themes in Goulet’s work: (1) the three-fold curse of underdevelopment—poverty, powerlessness, and hopelessness; (2) “authentic” development as the “transforming the [the victims of underdevelopment] into subjects, conscious and active shapers of their history;” (3) the diverse tasks of the development ethicist as analyst, critic, advocate, and change agent; (4) the three ethical principle of “decent sufficiency for all, solidarity, and non-elite participation. Especially important in this paper is my analysis, evaluation, and attempts to strengthen Goulet’s suggestive typology and assessment of types and channels of citizen participation in development.