fundamental contradictions within Development Studies

A couple guys did a great job of articulating what devs students feel today after class - they were talking really loud so i wasn't exactly eavesdropping. Anyways this is how the convo sort of went:

Devsy Guy: I hate the concept of development. You go into it thinking "hey! I'll help people" but Develpoment is like "No you wont, bastard!"
Commerce Guy: I'll build a school!
Devsy Guy on behalf of Development: Fuck You! Engage in solidarity! (referring to an article we read critiquing NGOs)

they went on like this for awhile, and it was pretty funny because its so true. I've decided that Devs is probably one of the only programs that could successfully be the means to its own end, because everyone who finishes Devs is more confused about devs than when they went in. AND no one really wants to do what they did when they began because they know how screwed up the whole system is. The only thing that sustains the Devs department is the constant influx of ignorant frosh with the "I'll help save the world" mentality.

This is the quotation from an article we read that sort of articulates our own undoing:

Solidarity is not about fighting people's battles. It is about establishing co-operation between different constituencies on the basis on mutual self-respect and concerns about the injustices suffered by each. It is about taking sides in the face of injustice or the processes which reproduce injustice. It is not built on sympathy or charity or the portrayal of others as objects of pity. It is not about fundraising to run your own projects overseas, but raising funds which others can use to fight their own battles. It is about taking actions within one's own terrain which will enhance the capacity of others to succeed in their fight against injustice. - Firoze Manji