Modernization essay Request. Perry, Marvin, et al. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Our Story Team Contact Us Privacy Policy, modernization essay. Technically, this stage requires a revolutionary advancement in agricultural production. ORDER NOW. This school of thought conveys the message to poor countries that poverty has nothing to do with their traditional values: it is the fault of global capitalism. If you continue, we will assume that you agree to our Cookies Policy OK.
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This Modernization Essay example is published for educational and informational purposes only, modernization essay. If you need a custom essay or research paper on this topic, please use our writing services. com offers reliable custom essay writing services that can help you to receive high grades and impress your professors with the quality of each essay or research paper you hand in. Modernization is an encompassing modernization essay of massive social changes that, modernization essay, once set modernization essay motion, tends to penetrate all domains of life, from economic activities to social life to political institutions, in a self-reinforcing process.
Modernization brings an modernization essay awareness of change and innovation, modernization essay, modernization essay with the idea that human societies are progressing. Historically, modernization essay, the idea of human progress is relatively new. As long as societies did not exert significant control over their environment and were helplessly exposed to the vagaries of natural forces, modernization essay, and as long as agrarian economies were trapped in a steady-state equilibrium where no growth in mass living standards took place, the idea of human progress seemed unrealistic. The situation began to change only when sustained economic growth began to occur.
However, the idea of human progress was contested from the beginning by opposing ideas that considered ongoing societal changes as a sign of human decay. Thus, modernization theory was doomed to make a career swinging between wholehearted appreciation and fierce rejection, depending on whether the dominant mood of the time was rather optimistic or pessimistic. The history of modernization theory is thus modernization essay history of anti-modernization theory. Both are ideological reflections of far-ranging dynamics that continue to accelerate the pace of social modernization essay since the rise of pre-industrial capitalism. The term modernization connotes first of all changes in production technology inducing major economic transitions from pre-industrial to industrial societies and from industrial to post-industrial societies.
The common denominator of all these aspects of modernization is the growing complexity, knowledge intensity, and sophistication of performed human activities. Modernization theory emerged in the Enlightenment era with the belief that technological progress would give humanity increasing control over nature. Adam Smith and Karl Marx propagated competing versions of modernization, with Smith advocating a capitalist vision, and Marx advocating communism. Competing versions of modernization theory enjoyed a new resurgence after World War II when the capitalist and communist superpowers espoused opposing ideologies as guidelines for the best route to modernity. Although they competed fiercely, both ideologies were committed to economic growth, social progress, and modernization, and they both brought broader mass participation in politics Moore From this perspective, traditional values were not only mutable but could — and should — also be replaced by modern values, enabling these societies to follow the path of capitalist development.
This version of modernization theory was not modernization essay criticized as patronizing, it was pronounced dead Wallerstein Neo-Marxist and world-systems theorists argued that rich countries exploit poor modernization essay, locking modernization essay in positions of powerlessness and structural dependence, modernization essay. This school of thought conveys the message to poor countries that poverty has nothing to do with their traditional values: it is the fault of global capitalism, modernization essay. Adherents of dependency theory claimed that the third world nations could only escape from global exploitation if they withdrew from modernization essay world market and adopted import substitution policies.
Modernization theories have been criticized for their tendency toward technological and socioeconomic determinism, modernization essay. Usually these critiques cite Max Weber []who reversed the Marxian notion that technologically induced socioeconomic development determines cultural change. Indeed, in his modernization essay of the rise of capitalism, Weber turns causality in the opposite direction, arguing that the Calvinist variant of Protestantism along with other factors led to the rise of a capitalist economy rather than the other way round.
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Modernization theory emerged in the Enlightenment era with the belief that technological progress would give humanity increasing control over nature. Adam Smith and Karl Marx propagated competing versions of modernization, with Smith advocating a capitalist vision, and Marx advocating communism. Competing versions of modernization theory enjoyed a new resurgence after World War II when the capitalist and communist superpowers espoused opposing ideologies as guidelines for the best route to modernity. Although they competed fiercely, both ideologies were committed to economic growth, social progress, and modernization, and they both brought broader mass participation in politics Moore From this perspective, traditional values were not only mutable but could — and should — also be replaced by modern values, enabling these societies to follow the path of capitalist development.
This version of modernization theory was not merely criticized as patronizing, it was pronounced dead Wallerstein Neo-Marxist and world-systems theorists argued that rich countries exploit poor countries, locking them in positions of powerlessness and structural dependence. This school of thought conveys the message to poor countries that poverty has nothing to do with their traditional values: it is the fault of global capitalism. Adherents of dependency theory claimed that the third world nations could only escape from global exploitation if they withdrew from the world market and adopted import substitution policies. Modernization theories have been criticized for their tendency toward technological and socioeconomic determinism.
Usually these critiques cite Max Weber [] , who reversed the Marxian notion that technologically induced socioeconomic development determines cultural change. Such markets are non-existent in traditional societies, and the source of labor is families and clans. While modern societies apply advanced levels of technology in production processes, traditional societies apply primitive technology, which raises the production cost and often results in low productivity. Other characteristics include an underdeveloped, rural, religion based society exhibiting collective social relations and a culture based on traditions for the traditional societies; as opposed to a developed, urban, rational, secular society exhibiting individuality and which is based on rules and laws; as in the case of modern societies.
Walt Rostow identified five stages of economic development, namely the Traditional Society, Preconditions for Take Off, Take Off, Drive to Maturity and High Mass Consumption. During the stage of the Traditional Society, the economy is dominated by subsistence production. All the output is consumed by the producers, implying that no surplus is left for sale. Such societies exercise barter trade, where there is direct exchange of goods for other goods. This form of trade depends on a double coincidence of wants between the seller and the buyer. Production in traditional societies is labor intensive and utilizes only limited amount of capital. Further, such societies utilize traditional methods of production, since modern production methods and technology are either inaccessible or unavailable.
The political organization of the traditional societies is not centralized, while the social organization is hierarchical and based on inheritance. The Preconditions for Take-off can be referred to as a transitional stage, in which an economy exits from the traditional society. During this stage, there is the rise of new ideas that are favorable to economic progress. These include better education systems and entrepreneurship. There is the emergence of new and better capital mobilization institutions. There is a dramatic increase production; resulting from investment in infrastructure and specialization in production.
This leads to surplus production, which can be used for trading. Improvement in the infrastructure also facilitates trade and administration in the society. Take note that although there is the emergence of a new industrial sector, traditional social structures remain in place. Another significant change that takes place during this stage is the change in the political structure. This involves change to nationalism, characterized by the formation of a centralized national government and administrative power. The Take-off is the most essential and the hardest stage to achieve, according to Rostow Stages of Economic Growth It involves sustainable growth of industries and a significant rise in investment.
Technically, this stage requires a revolutionary advancement in agricultural production. Secondly, there must be emergence and high growth rate of at least one preferably more than one leading manufacturing sector s. Such a sector employs the latest advancements in technology and stimulates supplementary growth sectors and derived growth sectors. This leads to an overall growth in the economy The third condition requires the existence of a social, political and institutional framework that can adequately support the leading sector and allow the benefits of the economic expansion to spread throughout the economy.
Drive to Maturity is the stage occurring about two decades since the beginning of the take-off stage. The former is characterized by slowing down of growth of leading sector s , hence other sectors become more prominent. At this level, modern production techniques are not limited to the leading sectors as in the case of take-off — they now exist in most sectors in the economy World Economy 2. Production at this level aims at maintaining competitiveness in the international market, not just for social necessity. The factor facilitating the development at this stage is the emergence of mass education. Age of high mass consumption refers to the stage when per capita income exceeds the cost of basic needs. There is the accumulation of significant economic surplus.
Consequently, consumers have sufficient disposable income. Economies at this level may choose to extend their social overhead capital and social-welfare policies, strive for world power by building up military power and colonization; investing overseas, including exportation of capital and expertise; or gear the economy towards given consumption patterns. This stage is characterized by a shift of the leading sectors towards housing and durable consumer goods; in addition to education, health and recreation services in the economy. Note that the first three stages seek to prolong the drive to maturity while the last option will result into the entrance into the age of high mass consumption.
Some modernization accounts went so far as to suggest that traditional societies did not embrace modern economic rationality but saw modern values as widely shared in the West. Modernization implied diffusion of Western values and a cultural convergence of the already modernized West and developing countries. Modernization theorists took as their unit of analysis the nation-state or individual national society. Aggregate individual change within a nation produced societal-level change. Modernization theorists did not heavily emphasize international forces, and to the extent they did consider factors beyond the individual society, they highlighted the positive roles that value diffusion and providing capital and technical know-how played in promoting development.
Although modernization theorists explored different dimensions of development, such as individual attitudinal change, urbanization and industrialization, political change, and economic growth, almost all agreed that modernization was a multifaceted process. Individual attitudinal change is a part of a larger process that includes shifts in social structure, the political order, and the economy. Hence, theorizing about modernization took place at a relatively high level of abstraction to avoid excluding any element of the process. Scholars of the social psychological school tend to identify principles such as honor and the quest for glory as relics of traditional society. They regard values such as acquisitiveness, thrift, and ambition as essential to economic development, and attitudes of interpersonal trust, moderation, and egalitarianism as critical to the emergence of democracy.
Rostow laid out five stages of economic development: traditional society, the preconditions for takeoff, takeoff, the drive to maturity, and the age of high mass consumption. and western European societies at the time he was writing. Such capital might be gained from many sources, but to many practitioners of development, foreign lenders and foreign assistance became increasingly obvious sources of investment capital. While economists in the modernization school saw many opportunities for governments to promote economic growth, they tended to favor the market system. Instead of the state control of the economy exercised by communist countries, they preferred policies that would lead people to take risks and become entrepreneurs.
They generally saw the transfer of technology through transnational corporations and foreign assistance as a positive way to provoke traditional societies to modernize. The Point Four Program of U. president Harry Truman and the Green Revolution exemplify policy efforts to transfer technology to promote modernization. Modernization theorists approached political development with two different conceptions of what constituted political modernity. According to one view, political development more or less equaled democracy. Political sociologist S. He suggested that political modernization rested on prior economic modernization and that as societies advanced economically, democracy would follow.
His colleagues cited urbanization, industrialization, and the spread of literacy as the sources of social complexity in urban industrial society. Social pluralism, including a literate, often self-employed middle class, promoted political pluralism and participation. Individual writers stressed specific intermediary mechanisms linking economic development to democratic participation. After a comparative study of Middle Eastern countries in the s, sociologist Daniel Lerner charted what he saw as the ideal development sequence: urbanization, spread of literacy, growth of mass media, inclusiveness in economic development, and political participation.
A second view of political development, advanced by political scientist Samuel Huntington, focused on institutional development, arguing that more developed political systems had institutions more able to withstand the challenges posed by newly mobilized societies. According to this perspective, economic development and the urbanization it spawns lead new social groups to make demands on government for services and distribution of state resources. The participation of new groups will overwhelm the state unless it has created participatory institutions and a bureaucracy able to meet their demands. Huntington thus came to advocate order over participation in most developing countries.
He suggested that political decay would result if governments refused to control excessive participation.
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