Participatory Action Research: The “Last Temptation of Saint” Development

A distinctive feature of the modern world is the production and consumption of programs, blueprints, and projects for all purposes. These are prepared on the basis of data, which, by definition, belong to the past. Facts related to every question are thus processed and problematized by teams of specialists, themselves expertly programmed. The result is a fragmented, professionally constructed image of how the world should look and become, in the form of programs designed to offer attractive solutions and raise expectations. A major side effect of these programs is that the creative energy available at all levels to explore facts and act upon them is often diverted and dissipated on irrelevant, trivial, and extremely costly operations. Development is one of these major programs.