Uneven Development

Uneven development is a general term for the measurement and explanation of spatial patterns of variation in the quality of life among human beings, or in a more restricted sense within Marxist theories, the concept is a fundamental and inescapable part of capitalism. The definitions of development are varied and contentious. Even given a particular definition, the patterns observed will vary widely depending on the chosen spatial scale. It is more challenging still to uncover the causes of any pattern and to situate these causes within a theory with explanatory power for larger areas and longer time periods. This entry discusses the definition and measurement of uneven development, the problem of scale, neo-Marxism and neoliberalism within the context of uneven development, and the subaltern and current trends.

Geographers and other social scientists have tended to approach uneven development through the lens of theories that, despite their varied emphases, overlap considerably: world-systems theory, dependency theory, neoliberalism, and, especially, neo-Marxism. Each approach grapples with the question “To what degree is uneven development an inevitable, even desirable, consequence of the spatially unequal comparative advantages inherent in a global capitalist system?” Another question is, “To what degree is uneven development a consequence of physical geographic endowment, and to what degree is it due to the chance contingencies of history?” Since the refutation of environmental determinism in the 1920s, this second question is asked less often; it is now generally taken for granted that uneven development is a complex intertwining of both factors. The subfield of cultural ecology, influenced by anthropologists such as Eric Wolf, has continued to examine the particulars of this intertwining, as have geographers such as Philip Porter and Eric Sheppard and, for a broader audience, Jared Diamond.

Work since the 1990s has tended to question assumptions regarding structure and agency and has inquired how spatial disparities may be mitigated, or redefined, by individuals or groups often considered its passive victims—the so-called subaltern. Postcolonial and Marxist geographers observe how neoliberal experiments have played out in various regions of the world and have reworked some Marxist ideas to better explain uneven development in the rapidly globalizing 21st century.