Dividing what is particular from what is universal: The Human Development Index in a systems theoretical perspective

Abstract All major international development organizations have committed themselves to a pluralistic approach that allows for a diversity of context-specific development paths. In order to be more than a superficial fad, these commitments must be effectively translated into the infrastructure of transnational knowledge stocks. More specifically, only if influential global development indicators are de-Westernized will non-Western contributions to human well-being be statistically accessible. Building on this proposition, the paper analyzes the Human Development Index (HDI) through the lens of Luhmann’s account of modernity, exploring whether the index avoids a Western bias or not. While the background understandings of the HDI offer an innovative approach in this regard, in only one of three indicators that compose the HDI is this approach translated into corresponding numerical measures. Three factors contribute to this mixed result, which could be of more general relevance for understanding how transnational knowledge stocks evolve.