Trans-development and the Global South: Counter-hegemonic Strategy for Building an Ecological Global Civilization

We define Trans-development as an overcoming of maldevelopment under capitalism towards building a planetary ecological civilization that is equitable, life-affirming and can ensure flourishing of humans along with nature and other species. How can such a planetary ecological counterhegemony be established in the Global South? I answer this question through exploring a fairly comprehensive strategy for development as freedom beyond the ecological and other crises-filled capitalism in the 21st century. Accordingly, I try to find a way to integrate useful markets with the key characteristics of the Enabling Ecological Trans-developmental State(EETDS) for the 21st Century in order to build a growing ecologically sustainable economy with equity in terms of capabilities. This will doubtless require a new global financial and ecological architecture. Relative Degrowth which involves sustainable people’s capabilities enhancing growth in the Global South, and degrowth in the Global North is a necessary condition for such a postcapitalist planetary civilization. Proceeding from a critical capabilities perspective that is fully grounded in social reality of deepening structural and ecological crises of the Global Capitalist System, we discover that such a perspective leads to the need to include among the characteristics of the EETDS for the 21st Century its capacity to build an ecologically sustainable egalitarian Trans- development strategy from the beginning. In addition, democracy must be deepened from the beginning. For the Global South including Eurasia, and particularly for Africa and Latin America, a new cooperative community of nations following their own rhythm to reach their own dynamic trajectories towards development as freedom will be possible if they cooperate regionally and globally on the basis of equal sovereignty and mutual respect. One precondition is to pragmatically unite for a common economic strategy. For this a decolonization of the mind in the global south is also necessary. The Gramscian idea of counterhegemony can be a fruitful way to carry out a thoroughgoing decolonization that dialectically addresses both material and ideational/ideological aspects of such decolonization. Strengthening the global south counterhegemonic movement built around a strategic program of trans-development is crucial for achieving real decolonization and creating a planetary ecological civilization.