Theories of Development

Modernization Theory
 Modernization Theory
• Modernization theory is a description and
explanation of the processes of transformation
from:

Traditional / Underdeveloped societies Modern Societies

Modernization theory has been one of the major perspectives in the sociology
of national development and underdevelopment since the 1950s.
• Modernization Theory originated from the
ideas of Max Weber. 1864-1920
• Parsons 1902-1979
 Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
• Traditional values of underdeveloped
countries hold back the developing countries
from development. The prime hurdle is:
• attachment and rigidity towards:
– Traditional customs
– Rituals & practices
– Institutions
Parsons argued these are the ‘enemy of progress’
 Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
• Parsons stated these barriers to development
include:
– Particularism
– Collectivism
– Patriarchy
– Ascribed Status and Fatalism
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Particularism:
Where people are allocated into roles based on their
affective or familial relationship to those already in
positions power.
Example: where a politician or head of a company
gives their brother or someone from their village or
ethnic group a job simply because they are close to
them, rather than employing someone based on
their individual talent.
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Collectivism:
This is where the individual is expected to put the
group (the family or the village) before self-interest .
Example: Children are expected to leave school at a
younger age in order to care for elderly parents or
grandparents rather than staying in school and
furthering their education. (For the greater good of
the family)
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Patriarchy:
a system of society or government in which men hold the
power and women are largely excluded from it.
– Patriarchal structures are much more entrenched in less
developed countries.
– women are much less likely to gain positions of political
or economic power, and remain in traditional,
housewife roles.
– This means that half of the population is blocked from
contributing to the political and economic development
of the country.
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Ascribed Status and Fatalism:
– Ascribed Status: where your position in society is
ascribed (or determined) at birth based on your
caste, ethnic group or gender. Example: India

– Fatalism: The feeling that there is nothing you can

do to change your situation.
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Parson’s catalysts for Modernization:
 Why the West Modernized:

– Individualism
– Universalism
– Achieved Status and Meritocracy
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Individualism:
– The opposite of collectivism This is where
individuals put themselves first rather than the
family or the village/ clan.

– This frees individuals up to leave families/ villages

and use their talents to better themselves ( get an
education/ set up businesses)
Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
 Universalism:
– This involves applying the same standards to
everyone, and judging everyone according to the
same standards This is the opposite of
particularism (where people are judged differently
based on their relationship to the person doing
the judging).
 Parsons Arguments for the Modernization
Theory
• Achieved Status and Meritocracy:
• where you achieve your success based on your own
individual efforts.
• This is profoundly related to the ideal of
meritocracy.
• If we live in a truly meritocratic society, then the
most talented and hardworking should rise to the
top-jobs, and these should be the best people to
‘run the country’ and drive economic and social
development.
 W.W. Rostow and the Stages of Economic
Growth
• One of the key thinkers in twentieth-century
Development Studies was W.W. Rostow, an
American economist, and government official.
• Rostow penned his classic Stages of Economic
Growth in 1960, which presented five steps
through which all countries must pass to
become developed.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization
• 1) traditional society
• 2) preconditions to take-off
• 3) take-off
• 4) drive to maturity
• 5) age of high mass consumption.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization

• Traditional Society: This stage is characterized

by a subsistent, agricultural based economy,
with intensive labor and low levels of trading,
and a population that does not have a
scientific perspective on the world and
technology.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization

• Preconditions to Take-off: Here, a society

begins to develop manufacturing, and a more
national/international, as opposed to regional,
outlook.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization

• Take-off: Rostow describes this stage as a

short period of intensive growth, in which
industrialization begins to occur, and workers
and institutions become concentrated around
a new industry.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization

• Drive to Maturity: This stage takes place over

a long period of time, as standards of living
rise, use of technology increases, and the
national economy grows and diversifies.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization

• Age of High Mass Consumption: At the time

of writing, Rostow believed that Western
countries, most notably the United States,
occupied this last "developed" stage. Here, a
country's economy flourishes in a capitalist
system, characterized by mass production and
consumerism.
 Rostow’s 5- Stages of
Development/Modernization
Modernization Theory Over the Years
Modernization Theory Over the Years
Modernization Theory Over the Years
 Criticism of Modernization Theory
• Development is not necessarily unidirectional. This is
an example of the ethnocentricity of Rostow’s
perspective.

• The modernization perspective only shows one

possible model of development.
– The favored example is the development pattern in the
United States.
– In contrast we can see that there have been development
advances in other nations, such as Taiwan and South Korea.
– Their current development levels have been achieved by
strong authoritarian regimes.
Criticism of Modernization Theory
• Modernization theory regards traditional
values as homogenous across the Under-
developed world. Where as this is not the
case.
• Traditional and modern values are not
necessarily mutually exclusive: China, for
example, despite advances in economic
development continues to operate on
traditional values and this appears to be the
same situation in Japan.
Criticism of Modernization Theory
• Since Modernization theory has also evolved
over the years. There now exists a dichotomy
of thought:
• Classical approach: tradition is an obstacle to
development
• New approach: tradition is an additive factor
of development.
Criticism of Modernization Theory
• Since Modernization theory has also evolved
over the years. There now exists a dichotomy
of thought:
• The classical perspective: uses a
unidirectional path which tends toward the
United States and European model.
• The new perspective: prefers a
multidirectional path of development.
Criticism of Modernization Theory
• Since states/countries do not exist in isolation
thus external factors and conflict also impact
modernization.
• Classicals demonstrate a relative neglect of
external factors and conflict.
• The New Approach: emphasizes the role of
external factors and conflicts on
modernization.