Human needs, sustainable development, and public policy: learning from K.W. Kapp (1910–1976)

The role and extent of public intervention in the economy, more than any other topic, has polarized the various traditions of economic thought. Karl William Kapp (1910–1976) was among those who strongly advocated public intervention. However, his analysis and the prescriptions involved were rather peculiar. His approach was rooted in (old) institutionalism and his attention focused on economic development and its processes. He maintained that economic analysis and policy have to be centred on the satisfaction of human needs and ensure continuation of human life on Earth. He saw himself as an advocate of ‘rational humanism’. Ahead of his time, in the 1950s he was already aware that unregulated economic processes deeply impair the human environment (both the social and natural environment). Given these premises, he saw public intervention as being aimed at protecting the human environment, both in the short and long run. It must not be thought, however, that he suggested top-down/paternalistic methods for choosing goals, strategies and policies. On the contrary, he advocated a dialectic between ends and means, guided by the interplay between science and participatory processes. This chapter will outline K.W. Kapp’s position, with reference both to the analytical framework he elaborated and to one of its origins, Myrdal’s approach. The next section shortly introduces the life and works of Kapp. The third section focuses on circular cumulative causation, a notion that he mainly derived from Myrdal and that was central to his thought. Section 14.4 shows in what respect Kapp moved beyond Myrdal, Section 14.5 seeks to give a unitary picture of his thought, while his position on development policies is explored in Section 14.6.