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Ideological Underpinnings of the World Assembly on Aging

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 November 2010

Sheila Neysmith  and
Joey Edwardh
Sheila Neysmith
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Joey Edwardh
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

The 1982 World Assembly on Aging was convened to launch an international plan of action aimed at guaranteeing economic and social security to older persons, as well as opportunities for them to contribute to national development. The Plan of Action was to be considered as an integral component of major international development strategies and programs which have been formulated in response to important world problems and needs. This paper examines the background documents on aging prepared by the United Nations for world wide regional meetings held before the Assembly. It argues that the issues raised were restricted to a “social problems” perspective on aging which is congruent with the modernization theory of development. The economic and political dependency of Third World countries was ignored. As a result, the discussion and recommendations emerging from the regional meetings, in both developed and underdeveloped areas, focused only on policies and programs similar to those in industrialized countries. This paper concludes that such programs are irrelevant to the lives of most people as they age.

Résumé

L'Assemblée mondiale de 1982 sur le vieillissement s'est réunie pour lancer un plan d'action international en vue d'assurer la sécurité économique et sociale des personnes âgées ainsi que leur participation au développement national. Ce plan d'action devrait être considéré comme intégralement constitutif des principaux programmes et tactiques de développement formulés en réponse aux grands problèmes et besoins mondiaux. Le présent article renferme un examen de la documentation sur le vieillissement préparée par les soins des Nations Unies à l'intention des assemblées régionales du monde entier qui se sont tenues devant l'Assemblée. La position adoptée dans cet article est la suivante: les questions soulevées s'inscrivaient uniquement dans la perspective des “problèmes sociaux” du vieillissement, conformémment à la théorie du développement par la modernisation; il n'a été tenu aucun compte de la dépendence économique et politique des pays du tiers monde. En conséquence, les discussions et recommandations issues des assemblées régionales, tant dans les pays développés que sous-développés, n'ont porté que sur les mesures et les programmes semblables à ceux qui ont été adoptés dans les pays industrialisés. La conclusion à laquelle aboutit cet article, c'est que de tels programmes sont sans incidence sur la vie de la plus grande partie de la population âgée.

Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , November 1983 , pp. 125 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 1983

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