In the sense that we conceive of the Plan as community building with a spiritual foundation, we are engaged in a development process. As I understand it, conceptions of human nature lie at the very root of this process. Flawed and fixed conceptions of human nature so often turn people off to religion; they give science reason to contradict religion; they have irrationally raised science to the highest arbiter in society today; and dangerously, these conceptions shape development policy. Conceptions of human nature are not simply descriptive, but prescriptive as well, and therein lies the importance of understanding this essential point. What I am interested in exploring in this post is how conceptions of human nature have influenced development initiatives in the past, and explore the understanding of human nature that underlies the Bahá’í community’s efforts.

In The Lab, the Temple, and the Market, Dr. Arbab, who started a Bahá’í inspired development organization working with the rural people of Colombia, highlights the effect of contradictory conceptions of human nature on the development process:

The prevailing — presumably realistic — views of human nature are confusing and self-contradictory. On the one hand, we dream of, and labour for, a world of peace and prosperity; on the other, what passes for scientific theory depicts us as slaves to our self-interest, incapable of rising to the heights of nobility we must achieve to meet our challenges. We work, then, for objectives lying forever beyond our selfish means. It is such contradictions that have led the paralysis of will that today pervades all strata of society.

In this same document, he traces the line of thought that characterized Western growth policies for developing nations. I find his description very interesting and worthy of summarizing:

"Alerte Arela" by Peter Daniel

Post-WWII, when development economists first began to think on a more global scale, development was thought of in terms of economic growth, i.e. industrialization, and the rural poor were seen as ignorant, unmotivated, lazy, and superstitious. After some time, the rural poor came to be seen as the “hidden capital” of developing nations; they were the untapped potential that could bring about the modernization, and thus prosperity, of their countries. As industrialization gained momentum, urban migration followed suit, and development economists held high hopes. Unfortunately, urban migration on this massive scale brought with it a whole host of other problems. As Dr. Arbab points out, “the first stages of migration from rural to urban areas, now so sorely lamented, were not accidents of history: they were inspired and driven by the flawed perception development thinkers held of their fellow human beings.”

Since this time, development thinkers have moved away from thinking of the poor simply in terms of their usefulness to the economic growth of their nation. A more humanitarian approach has come to characterize development projects since the 1970′s: instead of seeing the poor as commodities in themselves, the needs of the poor as human beings were being recognized. Nevertheless, a conception of the poor that was again too simplistic prevented development efforts from having any real effect. The poor were and are still today seen as suffering victims, a “bundle of problems and needs.” While it is undeniably true that the poor suffer due to gross injustices, development agencies have generally failed to uplift the poor when they approach them with such simplistic conceptions. Dr. Arbab puts it well when he says:

The problem runs very deep. Efforts to free development thinking from such paternalistic views tend all too often to fall into ideological traps, at the heart of which is a misconception of human nature. In the cherished notions of these ideologies, the liberated agents of change are either competitive, tireless labourers and entrepreneurs busily accumulating wealth or politicized social actors focused single-mindedly on matters of individual and group power. Neither the excessive individualism of the former nor the consecration to conflict of the latter, of course, supposedly serves only the self. Through some alchemy never quite explained, these labours and struggles result in social forces that will modernize underdeveloped nations and usher humanity into an age of prosperity. At the altars of such tragic misconceptions of human nature the lives of the masses of humanity have been sacrificed for decades.

Bahá’ís are not solely focused on developing materially impoverished countries. We are engaged in a world-wide community building process that is needed in every area of the world. Where material needs are unmet, one oftentimes finds a profound level of “spiritual development.” At the same time, in Belgium, for example, where I currently live, although a materially prosperous country, it is most definitely spiritually impoverished, and thus is also in need of development according to a Bahá’í understanding. True development requires not only material civilization, but spiritual civilization building as well. Material civilization can be compared to the body, and spiritual civilization is the spirit that animates it.

Two important points related to human nature drastically influence how Bahá’ís approach others in this process of community building. In the first place, Bahá’u'lláh repeatedly affirms the inherent nobility of man:

O Son of Spirit! Noble have I created thee, yet thou hast abased thyself. Rise then unto that for which thou wast created.

Secondly, He affirms the capacity of each one of us to give ourselves in service to others, to place altruism above selfish pursuits. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, in fact, that our greatest distinction and happiness lies in service to others:

“…the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.” 

The great power which flows from the Bahá’í community’s global efforts is bound intimately with this view of human nature. To see not only our ability to transcend our lower natures and manifest spiritual qualities, but to recognize every individual’s capacity to engage in this transformative process is the most powerful agent of growth and change that we can give to individuals and communities around the world.