Human Development: Understanding the Concept

Having appropriate knowledge about human development is important because it helps you understand the relationship of individual growth and society, support the mental and physical health of yourselves and others, and most importantly, understand your own life experience. There are three domains of human development – physical, cognitive, and psychological development of humans throughout the lifespan. What types of developments are involved in each domain will be mentioned later in the article. You will get to know in detail how this phenomenon works through this article. Also, you will be aware of the index used for measuring human development by the end of it.

History of Human Development:

Real Human Development is all about freedom. The freedom that ordinary people have to decide how to live, what to do, and who to be. Providing people opportunities and this real freedom is the most important aspect of their well-being.  

In the 1970s, Mahbub ul Haq (a Pakistani economist) brought to light that the existing measures of human progress are not doing what they should do, i.e., improving people’s well-being. He mentioned that all the measures that are currently present haven’t succeeded to account for their true purpose. After this, Dr. Haq, Amartya Sen, and some other economists put forward the first Human Development Report in 1990. The UNDP commissioned this report.

About human development in detail:

The central approach of human development is the concept of capabilities. What are capabilities? It refers to what people can do and what they can easily become. A decent material standard of living, access to knowledge, and good health are some of the very basic capabilities valued by everyone. Other capabilities that form the part of a fulfilling life could be –

• to live in an environment controlled by self
• to have respect from the society 
• the ability to participate in the decisions that affect one’s life 
• to enjoy freedom from violence 
• to relax and have fun, and more.

So how are our capabilities expanded from the very basic to fulfilling ones?

This is possible with our hard work and efforts and somewhat by the conditions and institutions of our society. Having the tools to make ‘a good life’ are very important. People with well-developed and extensive capabilities already have them. On the other hand, the poor strive to earn even the basic necessities of life, and for them, thinking of all these fulfilling capabilities is far more than a dream. This has totally become their mindset because they know that they do not have the tools to reach there even if they put in the effort. Not having access to basic capabilities devoids them from discovering their own human potential. 

The capability approach to well-being prioritises the ability of people to turn opportunities into happenings from which they can be benefited. However, this is ironic. And, I say so because it will only be possible for the poor people if they give up something else, which they usually don’t have. This focuses on subjective measures such as income or maybe happiness. 

Why health, education, and income?

As mentioned earlier, health, education, and income are seen as the three main aspects around which human development revolves. But why only these three? What’s the reason behind choosing them?

• Being alive is the most valuable capability possessed by people. The first and foremost need is to expand health-related opportunities for people so that their life expectancy can be increased and they can live more and enjoy the life they have created for themselves.

• Education is something that can change lives for sure. But the access to education is something that people in the backward regions are still devoid of. Encouraging education means encouraging self-sufficiency and self-determination.

• To move beyond the basic necessities and fulfil the higher capabilities, one needs to have a decent income. With income comes a decent standard of living.

Comparing this with the capability approach, we may come to the answer that this is because these three are considered the core capabilities. These capabilities are measurable, universally valued worldwide, and intuitively sensible, plus there are reliable indicators present to quantify them.   

Measuring human development:

The national debt figures, daily stock market results, consumer spending levels, and GDP or Gross domestic product are used to express the state of any nation. However, these numbers cannot fully explain how the people in the nation are faring. These figures only give us a partial view of the nation.

So, an alternative for simplifying money metrics and measuring human development was developed. This is known as the Human Development Index.

The human development index is the most basic and easy-to-understand concept. It can be defined as a tool based on statistics used to rank different countries according to their economic and social perspective. It includes education, health, and income, the basic ingredients of human well-being. It was in 1990 when the first human development index was presented. Since then, it has been featured in the Human Development Report every year and has virtually ranked the countries from number one to number 177. 

Measuring human development was never this easy before. From succeeding in broadening the discussion and measurement of human well-being beyond its importance to being the official government static in many countries, the Human Development Index has explained its importance for all nationalities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we would mention that human resources are the most vital and should be taken care of for the betterment and development of each nation. We would also sum up the three domains of human development here, i.e., physical, cognitive, and psychological development. The changes and growth related to the body and the mind, health and wellness, the senses, motor skills, etc., fall under physical development. Our social relationships, personality, and emotions fall under psychological development. Lastly, our creativity, the ability to remember things, thinking capability, learning potential, attention, and concentration towards something fall under the cognitive domain.