Redefining Development: Innovating Standards to Improve Quality of Life

This chapter brings forward a slight different approach to the dominant philosophies of development. By redefining development through the perspectives of innovation in market standards, this chapter aims to provide insights into how standardization in a well-regulated and innovative marketplace can contribute to the improvement of quality of human life and hence bringing development to the society. Hence, the examination goes beyond the limitations of dominant philosophies of development that consider development as either economic growth or as an improvement of freedom, liberty and human capital and rights. The philosophy that links development to innovation of standards recognizes the work of all technicians and technocrats working in the business world. This means that development encompasses not only the improvement of standards for goods and services as well as the quality of human life, but also the results of the labor of every technician and technocrat involved in reducing poverty, hunger, unemployment, gender inequality, and government oppression. Thus, the emphasis is on those standards that enhance the state, procedures, goods, and services that are used in society in an effort to increase user happiness and enhance the level of living for everybody. The quality of human life refers to all multifaceted dynamic conditions of living that signal an advancement of wellbeing of people and their societies. This chapter will be divided into three parts: 1) definition of the term ‘development’, 2) importance of innovation of standards, 3) link between development, innovation of standards and quality of life.