Smith, Benjamin James Barrymore S.

2011-78048
Synthesis Paper on Discourses on Development and Environment

In the Authoritarian High Modernism article by Scott, it discussed the mechanics

and definitions of Authoritarian High Modernism. Modernism is the need of science to
understand phenomena, High Modernism is the need of science to find solutions for
everything, and Authoritarian High Modernism is the need for the state to solve many
human problems with science. There are things that science cannot understand such
as supernatural phenomena and other unexplained occurrences. There are things
that the government has no business getting involved in or should intervene with
such as social and personal issues. Relying on science and the state can lead to
disaster by imperious attitude mixed with authoritarian power leading to the failure of
social development. One example would be the Communist China under Mao TseTung as he tries to enhance China with the First Five-Year Plan leading to somewhat
a success but became relatively sluggish performance of agriculture and the inability
of state trading companies to increase significantly the amount of grain procured
from rural units for urban consumption. Relying solely on personal freedoms and
untested beliefs can also lead to disaster.

The article, Truth about Wilderness by Cronan, discusses Wilderness as a

cultural construct consisting of a sublime as described as a sacred and religious
presence of divinity and a frontier displaying the ideology of the modern man seeking
a place or a retreat away from civilization to "rediscover" his prehistoric background.
The idea has introduced that their natural places have been set to a high standard
leading to the mentality of becoming an environmentalist but also disregarding home.
As mentioned in the essay, the author states that the dualism ideology should be
dismantled and to recognize that both human and nature are as one to sustain the
idea that we are inextricably tied to ecosystems that sustain us.

The next article, False Forest History by Leach and Fairhead, discusses two
social science consisting of a narrative and counter-narrative. The first social science
narrative describes that the studies with the social analysis conclude that population
growth and the loss of sustainable traditional practices by local people led to the
cause of deforestation. But in truth, the narratives that were made by the social
scientists were based on false assumptions and generalizations on the African
societies and forests. The use of these assumptions led to the formulation of
ineffective policies with sub effects of irrelevancy and destructive facts to the issue.

The next article, Inventing Social Categories through Place by Pigg, discusses
the overlapping of social representations and development in Nepal with the use of
bikas as a coordinate for social positions layering the area and villages by separation
of villages and the hills creating a diminishing factor in the culture of the Nepalise.
State intervention with the use of school textbooks as a tool for segregation of
villages and other social classes creating a vision of a developed Nepal from the
current state of Nepal being underdeveloped. Instead of separation of social classes,
the community of Nepal should be open to accepting and acknowledging the classes
for a better deterrent for the community of Nepal.

The next article, Through A Green Lens by Zerner, discusses Sasi, which is a
composition of customary and ritual laws, families, cultural practices that set the
boundary of control on environmental resources such as orchard fields, marine
deposits, and forest fields. But due to the influence of the Dutch colonizers, Sasi was
modified and corrupted for the economic gains leading to disastrous effects on the
environment. Now that the Sasi has been somewhat finalized, its means are to
create an environmental movement to create reparations to preserve the culture and
practices that are accepted with the state and locals.

After summarizing all these articles and comparing them, majority of the articles
discuss the outcome of intervention on development and the environment. Ranging
from the authoritative meddling of development, to the environmental interference of
the state powers. In the first three articles, duality is highlighted a one of the main
ideas. Duality, in general, has always be a recurring concept such as the human and
nature concept of duality. Instead of this manner, the articles push to see the issues
not as two separate entities, but as one aspect. Being under one aspect becomes
open to the ideas of not seeing separately, but seeing the concept of connections
between two entities such as the example of the human and nature duality. In that
article, for instance, the author explains that human and nature are intertwined and
should be recognized the relationship of the ecosystems and humans and the
sustainability provided. As for the two other articles, external influence on third world
minorities and their development has been seen. Due to external intervention by the
state and other countries, cultural roles and laws have been modified by foreign
influences that create problems for the development and preservation of the culture
and other factors. From the Sasi and the bikas, it should be known that recognition of
these cultural relics should be kept sacred and should be understood before being
intervened with.

For the relevance of tourism, each article has is valuable points toward the
tourism industry which also helps identify the white and black areas, but also the
grey areas that majority of what people fail to see.

Authoritarian High Modernism accentuates the limits of the government towards

science. The value of plans and statistics cant be left to just the state to help
alleviate the development of their progress. When it comes to understanding tourism,
statistics and plans barely encapsulates the whole phenomena of tourism. For
example, Boracay has been highly projected to produce 10 million visitors by 2016
and by that basis, the government has started to further develop Boracay by
additional amenities and whatnot. But due to insufficient planning and analyzing, the
government failed to maintain the islands development and to uphold any laws to
preserve and protect the marine reserve which Boracay is a part of.

The Truth about Wilderness questions in what position humans are to fully
endorse and if humans truly understand the environment and their roles within the
environment. With that knowledge, how do humans encapsulate the tourism
experience and design it to see humans and nature as one concept? That is a
question that professionals in the tourism industry should be able to answer.

False Forest History contributes to how tourism industries identify certain

destinations and if they properly studied and researched on the developmental plan.
Developers cannot solely rely on their assumptions and basic generalizations on the
location. Proper research and studies should be conducted for a better outcome of
producing effective policies of development and maintaining of destinations.

Inventing Social Categories through Places relevance to tourism identifies more

of how social classes should be acknowledged. As you have host communities in a
destination with tourists, tourism should help promote social acknowledgement with
the local communities and the tourists and discourage categorizing of social
classifications making a more fulfilling tourism experience between the locals and the
tourists.

Through a Green Lens relevance to tourism is the sustainability of ecotourism

and the preservation of culture within the destination. With developing and
preserving certain destinations, cultural practices and other customs of the host
community within the area should be considered before preserving it. As such,
tourism policies should be made to preserve and to sustain the practices within the
destination that are accepted by both parties.