Development in Latin America: political economies as a matter of culture

The growing unrest regarding the social, political, economic and environmental state of affairs, both in the global South and North, suggests a deep challenge of the development model. Ideas about development matter because they seek to bring about social states by solving social ills. Therefore, development has traditionally been a solution to problems. However, its definition is being increasingly disputed. So, it has become a problem as well, a wicked one, requiring clumsy solutions. This article makes sense of that plurality and proposes a way to harness it. Applying grid group cultural theory to this debate produces four irreducible ideal-typical worldviews and notions of development: market-led individual prosperity, state-led system-wide welfare, alternatives of community-led equal welfare with ecological conservation, and a mirage.The growing unrest regarding the social, political, economic and environmental state of affairs, both in the global South and North, suggests a deep challenge of the development model. Ideas about development matter because they seek to bring about social states by solving social ills. Therefore, development has traditionally been a solution to problems. However, its definition is being increasingly disputed. So, it has become a problem as well, a wicked one, requiring clumsy solutions. This article makes sense of that plurality and proposes a way to harness it. Applying grid group cultural theory to this debate produces four irreducible ideal-typical worldviews and notions of development: market-led individual prosperity, state-led system-wide welfare, alternatives of community-led equal welfare with ecological conservation, and a mirage