The Development of the Modernisation Theory - Coursework Example

Modernisation Theory Modernisation Theory Introduction After the post 1945 WWII era, the world significantly changed due to the growth of the modernisation theory. Some Europeans countries and the western world believed that the theory would have reconstructed and boosted the low economies. Additionally, the model promoted the idea of bringing the developing economies to the American standards. Scholars in development studies have put across many definitions of the modernisation theory in social, economic and political perspectives. The emergence of the modernisation theory in the 1950’s explains why nations developed the notion that to become “modern” one must adopt the western cultures. On another different note, the modernisation theory is still relevant today in the social, economic and political lives (Haynes, 2008). Scholars in the development studies argue that the ideas of the modernisation theory do not disappear, instead the ideas forms a part of the next “big idea.” The paper seeks to show and explain the various ways in which the modernisation theory is still relevant in the contemporary world. Criticisms that are associated with the modernisation theory are also discussed in this paper. Meaning of the term “Modernisation” The development of the modernisation theory suggested development and modernity of the low economies. However, the underlying notions of the model led to controversies on the nature of the theory. As a result, many scholars derived definitions of the term “modernisation” in different perspectives. Modernisation can be defined as the process of social change. Another orientation could define the term as a process of change, which also involves response to change. Other scholars argue that modernisation is the transformation of people’s views and activities. It is evident that the definitions revolve around the political, social and economic aspects of development (Bernstein, 1971). W.W. Rostow, an American economist and historian, presented an economic model, which was considered as the blueprint for the modernization approach in the post 1945 WWII era. Rostow argued that development occurs in stages, for example, underdevelopment, transition and modernism. For the less developed economies to be like America, they must go through these stages so as to achieve development or modernity. In an economic point of view, modernisation can, therefore, mean transformation of agricultural production practices to the modern industrialised production methods. According to Rostow model, I would argue that the aspect of economic revolution makes the modernisation theory relevant even today. This is because the less developed economies are still struggling in the stages of development so as to become “modern.” Emergence and Growth of the Modernisation Theory As stated earlier, the modernisation theory emerged in the 1950’s where most countries were looking forward to be modern like America and some Western European countries. The theory suggested the simple transformation of traditional societies to modern societies. This theory can also be described as a wave of evolution where humanity was moving from primitive states to more advanced states. Modernisation was conceived as a good unidirectional move that was felt in the whole world. As time went by, people realised that economic growth models used in America and some European countries were adopted in the poor countries of Africa and Asia. Scholars also realised that the aspect of economic growth was embedded in the modernisation theory more than the political and social aspects (Bernstein, 1971). In the 1960s, the Rostow model summarised the whole concept of modernisation theory as the process of economic development. Note that the model is still relevant today in literature, economic and social sciences. According to Rostow, modernisation involved the shift from a traditional society to a modern society. In details, the traditional society evolves in terms of entrepreneurship and infrastructures and reaches a point where change is limited. This becomes the second stage after underdevelopment where there are preconditions that prevent change. These preconditions may include the old social values, traditional methods of production and regional political institutions. These conditions that prevent economic change are prevalent in most African economies even up to date and thus making modernisation theory relevant. Then, after the breakdown of the obstacles hindering change, the economy shifts to the “take-off” stage. This stage is characterised by significant technological advancements and investments. In order to move to the “take-off” stage, several factors are required. First, there should be large-scale internal and external investment that would initiate economic growth. Some people argued that for an economy to take off, it must overcome the “poverty traps” through massive investments. Other scholars summarised these arguments claiming that there is need for a “big push” for economies to take off to the maturity stage of economic development. It is important to note that these arguments and statements are occurring again in the contemporary society (Easterly, 2005). Relevance of the Modernisation Theory In Contemporary Literature The contemporary literature clearly identifies how the “big push” theory has been revived by scholars and international organizations. The theory of the “poverty trap” is also evident in the contemporary literature particularly concerning the international bodies’ reports. Jeffery Sachs seems to return the “big push” approach to economic development in his article that was published in 2005 (Sachs, 2005). He calls for US assistance to intervene in saving the poor countries, which are caught in a “poverty trap.” Sachs believes that only the developed countries can save the poor nations from mass hunger, death and extreme poverty. These claims seem to revive the old arguments perpetrated by supporters of the modernisation theory. In fact, the statements have not changed at all and thus revealing that modernisation theory is still relevant in the contemporary society. Sachs indicates that the UN Millennium Project of 2005 can fuel development by offering a “big push” of large-scale investment to the less developed countries. From the discussion, you can see that “big push” and “poverty traps” theories have not been discarded since the 1960s and are integral parts of the contemporary literature. In the contemporary world, economists argue that the state must be the main actor in promoting developing in underdeveloped and developing countries. Keynes, an economist adds that it is the role of the state to intervene in times of crisis in order to revive a collapsing economy. It, therefore, means that nowadays, most of the economic policies are developed by the central government. The approach to place the state as a central actor in development seems to recognize Rosenstein-Rodan arguments of the 1950s and 1960s (Rosenstein-Rodan, 1961). He argued that there is need for state intervention in order to remove the barriers hindering development in the developing countries. The modern scholars and international organizations have, therefore, recognized some aspects of the modernisation theory. For example, in 1997, the World Bank stated that the state is at the core of economic, human and social development (World Bank, 1997). In 2009, the DFID, a development agency declared that there is need to support the “fragile states” (DFID, 2009).These arguments and statements form another part of the significance of the modernisation theory in the contemporary world. In Social, Economic and Political World The modernization school of thought is seen as a value-based approach where traditional societies are required to change their values and adopt modernity. This aspect is essential in the modern social world where leaders and scholars are promoting value-based ideologies. According to Rostow, traditional societies were primitive in terms of their cultural and social practices and hence they needed to needed to undergo the stages of development in order to reach the “modernity” status (Rostow, 1960). From the arguments, it is evident most of the theorists in the 1950’s and 1960’s distinguished the two societies based on value. The traditional society had low-valued socio-cultural practices while the modern society is viewed as having advanced or high-valued socio-cultural practices. In the late 1990s, theorists of modernization recognized the value-based approach in distinguishing societies. As a result, many developing nations started training in the popular American culture, looking upon the Westernizing elites and adopting the entrepreneurial culture of the First World countries. In this way, the modernists concur with the theorists and leaders who existed during the development of the modernisation theory. It is evident that the old aspects of the theory are reconstructed in the contemporary world and thus making the theory to grow (Newman, 2011). Although the distinction between the traditional and modern societies have almost ceased in the contemporary literature, the promotion of western political ideologies in the political arenas have not ended. International organisations and development agencies seem to promote the western politics across the globe. In today’s world, most of the development agency efforts include building of democratic states and retaining the dominance of the western states (Cammack 1997). For example, most international organizations advocate democracy so as to improve their control over the global politics. In summary, there are creations of numerous “universally viable” organizations that perpetrate the spread of political ideologies from the developed countries to the developing countries. In the 1960’s, Rostow had noted that progress in economic, social and political development is universal (Rostow, 1960). On another different note, modernisation theory seems to be relevant in the modern days because the economic growth rates are compared using the ideas, which emerged during the development of the theory in the 1950’s and 1960s. As indicated earlier, the contemporary literature reveals how the economic theories of the 1950s and 1960s are recognized by international bodies (Kothari and Minogue, 2002). These organizations emphasize that development of the developing countries can only be helped by massive investment programmes. Additionally, most poor countries rate their development with the five stages of development created by Rostow. In this way, they promote the relevance of the modernisation theory in the contemporary world. Based on the previous discussions, most the aspects of the modernisation theory remain significant in the modern world. In the following section, I will discuss various examples of how the theory is emerging again in the contemporary after its demise in the 1970s. Modernisation Theory and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) The MDGs are essential in illustrating how the development agendas have changed since the emergence of the modernisation theory. Before 2000, the focus was mainly based on the economic growth that promoted growth of countries. However, the MDGs, today, have embodied the idea of human and social development, which considers life expectancies and literacy rates (Brinkerhoff, 2008). Thus the ideas of modernisation theory are re-emerging again. As stated earlier, the United Nations Millennium Project Report of 2005 have extensively used the terms “big-push” and “poverty traps.” Many development reports in 2005 advocated for a big push of investments on infrastructures, public administrations and human capital (UN Millennium Project, 2005). Research shows that most MDGs initiatives are saturated with aspects of the modernisation theory. Leaders are calling for centrally directed plans to take over the small projects, improve them and achieve economic development. On another different note Jeffrey Sachs argues that a big push of massive investments would help the world achieve the MDGs by 2025. The MDGs are extremely important in showing how the ideas of the modernisation theory are emerging in the modern world. Modernisation Theory and the Arjun Appadurai Article (2004) In this section, the relevance of the modernisation theory is illustrated using the article entitle “The Capacity to Aspire” written by Arjun Appadurai in 2004. Appadurai argues that culture is essential in development. Culture can be an obstacle for development. The author presents culture based on its future implications in hindering development. His approach to cultural practices is related with psychological ideas of the modernisation theory. Additionally, Appadurai uses the term “culture of poverty” which resembles the modernisation theory aspect of “poverty trap.” The author points out that the deep-rooted norms of the societies are obstacles to development, for example, the ‘untouchables’ in India who are resistive to change (Appadurai, 2004). Appadurai adds that it is important for societies to have aspirations for a better future. He concludes that there is need to strengthen the poor so as they get ‘the capacity to aspire’ and change their futures. Critical analysis of Appadurai arguments shows that the article recognizes the aspect of ‘needs for achievement’ that is detailed in the literature of 1960s (Appadurai, 2004). Based on the arguments, one can, therefore, conclude that the lack of the two aspects amongst the poor would create an obstacle for development, now and in the future. Appadurai article is very important in revealing how the modernisation theory’s ideas are still relevant in the modern world. Criticisms of the Modernisation Theory If the modernisation theory is still relevant, then, it means that its criticisms are also relevant even today. In the 1970s, modernisation theory was discredited my many scholars and leaders and thus, it is important to evaluate whether the re-emerging ideas of the theory contain flaws. Rostow’s work was criticized because he did not consider the diverse political and economic nature of countries (Rostow, 1960). In the modern world, the re-emerging modernisation theory has not repeated the mistakes since the international bodies take a different approach in improving the economies of the poor countries. For example, they focus on improving internal and external investments according the economic and political nature of the aided countries. Another criticism came from the dependency theory, which made the modernisation theory disappear in the 1970s (Huntington, 1971). Dependency theorists argued that some countries remained underdeveloped because they were exploited by the developed countries. Therefore, there were external barriers, which hindered development and not internal hindrances as the modernisation theory suggested. Dependency theories are important in assessing whether development of the poor countries is sustainable in the long run. This is because the modernisation theory seems to suggest that internal investments in a poor country can result to increase of the developed countries in the world. However, at some point, the developing countries will be exposed to the global markets that channels exploitation. Therefore, development cannot be fully achieved as the dependency theory suggests. This criticism should be considered before concluding that the re-emerging ideas of the modernisation theory are true and relevant (Easterly, 2005). Strengths of the Modernisation Theory The modernisation theory is strong because it encompasses almost every aspect of life that changed in the wake of the end WWII. This is because most of the arguments presented are based on economic changes from the traditional societies to modern societies. Modernisation is based on the argument that improvement of the production methods leads to economic growth. Also, the economic growth is associated with human and social development where the traditional practices are discarded for the modern secular practices. Although the theory is criticised for promoting the western values to the poor nations, it remains relevant in showing how universal changes occur (Bernstein, 1971). The fact that ideas of the modernisation theory are re-emerging in the contemporary world makes it relevant and stronger than other theories. Conclusion Based on the discussion presented in the essay, modernisation theory is still relevant in the contemporary world in many ways. Modernisation theory emerged in the 1950s and has been defined in different perspectives in development studies literature. Most of these definitions revolve around the universal and unidirectional change in economic, socio-cultural and political aspects in the world. The Rostow’s model has been recognized as the most significant element of the modernisation theories because it explains the various stages involved in development (Rostow, 1960). The modernisation theory is still because in the recent past, it has re-emerged in literature, social, political and economic worlds. Ideas of the theory are also embodied in the MDGs and this further illustrates how the theory is relevant and valid. Although the modernisation theory has faced criticisms from the dependency theorists and others, it has remained strong because it covers the social, political and economic aspects that occur in development. References Appadurai, A. (2004). The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 59-84. Bernstein, H. (1971). Modernisation Theory and the Study of Development, Journal of Development Studies 7 (2). Brinkerhoff, D. (2008). The State and International Development Management: Shifting Tides, Changing Boundaries, and Future Directions, Public Administration Review, 68(6), 985-1001. Cammack, P. (1997) Capitalism and democracy in the Third World: the doctrine for political development. Leics: University of Leicester Press. DFID (2009). Eliminating World Poverty: Building our Common Future, DFID White Paper. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Easterly, W. (2005) "Reliving the 50s: The Big Push, Poverty Traps and Takeoffs in Economic Development", Centre for Global Development, Working Paper Nr. 65. Haynes, J. (2008). Development Studies. Cambridge: Polity. Huntington, S. (1971). The Change to Change: Modernization, Development, and Politics Comparative Politics April, 3 Peet, Chapter 3. Kothari, U. and Minogue, M. (2002). Development Theory and Practice: Critical Perspectives. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Newman, E. (2011). A Human Security Peace-Building Agenda, Third World Quarterly, 32(10), 1737-1756. Rosenstein-Rodan, P. (1961). Notes on the Theory of Big Push" in Meier M. G.,  Leading issues in economic development. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Rostow, W.W. (1960). The Stage of Economic Growth. London: Cambridge University Press. Sachs, J. (2005). The End of Poverty. London: Penguin. UN Millennium Project, (2005). Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals. New York: UNDP World Bank (1997).World Development Report 1997: The State in a Changing World. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1997. Read More