Relevance and influence in the current world among nations and continents are largely measured in terms of development. Development is primarily viewed as economic and technological growth such that a country that is not advanced economically and technologically can hardly have “a voice” in the comity of nations. Development is so crucial to how a country is perceived internationally that it determines how a country is identified—whether “developed,” “developing,” or “underdeveloped.” All these descriptive terms are, however, suggestive of power play among nations—who has power, who lacks it, who is gaining it, or who is losing it. This essay argues against the popular idea of development, which sees development as predominantly technology- and economy-based. Arguing from the stance of Yorùbá conception of ìdàgbàsókè (development), this essay advocates a definition of sustainable development that is people-centered and, hence, focused on moral traits as found in ọmọlúàbí (a person of honor, good character, and integrity) rather than on just technology or the economy.

各个国家和大洲在当今世界的相关性和影响力很大程度上是根据发展来衡量的。发展主要被视为经济和技术增长，因此，一个经济和技术落后的国家很难在国际社会中发出“声音”。发展对于一个国家在国际上的看法至关重要，以至于它决定了如何识别一个国家（无论是“发达”，“发展中”还是“欠发达”）。但是，所有这些描述性用语都暗示着国家之间的权力游戏-谁拥有权力，谁缺乏权力，谁正在获得权力或谁正在失去权力。本文与普遍的发展观念相抵触，后者认为发展主要是基于技术和经济的。从约达巴（发展）概念的立场出发，