Paradigma e zhvillimit njerëzor dhe tranzicioni post-komunist në Shqipëri
Human development paradigm and postcommunist transition in Albania

Summary/Abstract: Human development is not a recent invention. It is attributed to the early political and economic thinkers. Aristotle used to say that “wellbeing is obvious that it is not the good we search for, but it is simply useful for the sake of something else.” Emanuel Kant went on the tradition of treating human beings as the true aim of all activities, when stressing out the treatment of man in its form and never as a means. When Adam Smith, the defender of private free initiative, expressed his concern that the economic development must allow a person to freely mix with the others “without feeling ashamed to present himself in public”, he expressed a concept of poverty that went beyond the assessment of income concerning a concept that integrated the poor into the majority of community. The same line was reflected in the writings of the other founders of economic thought, including, Robert Malthus, Karl Marx and John Stuart Mill . This paper aims to present the alternative theory of human development, against the traditional theory of economic development, while applying it in the postcommunist transition situation in Albania. The ultimate goal of development is to broaden people’s choices. In principle, these solutions could be endless and may change with time. People usually asses achievements which never appear, or do not instantly appear, in the indicators of income development: better access to knowledge, better food and health services, safer neighbourhoods, safety against crime and physical violence, pleasant free time, political and cultural freedom and a participatory sense to community activities. In brief, the objective of development is to create an environment that makes possible a long, healthy and creative life to the people.

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