Modernization theory studies the process of social evolution and the development of. Development rostows of development and ist relevance in. It is a us and europeancentric normative model of development. Modernization theory emerged in the 1950s as an explanation of how the industrial societies of north america and western europe developed. The endogenous explanation is a modernization theory. There seems to be a dynamic principle built into the very fabric of. Dependency theory is a sociological theory which holds that economic events in history have encouraged developing countries to depend upon the support of more advanced nations. Modernization theory focuses specifically on a type of modernization thought to. Modernity and modernization oxford research encyclopedia.
Modernization theory studies the process of social evolution and the development of societies. There are two levels of analysis in classical modernization theory. While historians are still debating the end of modernization, and the demise of the grand narrative of modernization in historical writing, the concept of modernization has witnessed a remarkable renaissance in sociology since the mid to late1980s mergel 1997, p. Modernisation refers to a model of a progressive transition from a premodern or traditional to a modern society. Pdf on jan 1, 2010, prateek goorha and others published modernization theory. April 35, 2007 moscow evgeny yasin modernization and the society moscow, 2007. Modernization theory oxford research encyclopedia of. The main objective of this document is to synthesize the main aspects of the four major theories of development. Modernization theory a theory asserting that as societies developed economically, they would take on a set of common characteristics, including democracy and capitalism westerncentric ideology assuming that all countries will go this way unless diverted by other systems communism or fascism. Modernization theory is a grand theory encompassing many different disciplines as it seeks to explain how society progresses, what variables affect that progress, and how societies can react to that progress. These theoretical perspectives allow us not only to clarify concepts, to set them in. Dependency theory, sometimes called foreign dependency, is used to explain the failure of nonindustrialized countries to develop economically despite investments made into them from industrialized nations. Many developed countries have huge inequalities and the greater the level of inequality the greater the degree of. Both modernisation and dependency theory make the mistake of treating ldcs least developed countries as homogeneous i.
Gabriel abend northwestern university theory is one of the most important words in the lexicon of contemporary sociology. Modernization theory is a description and explanation of the processes of transformation from traditional or underdeveloped societies to modern societies. The basic assumption of this theory, in any of its versions, is that there is one gen. In such a way, this theory views modernization of socioeconomic and political life of developing countries on the basis of the example of western countries as the only possible solution of the problem of backwardness of poor countries since western way of development is, according to modernization theory, is the only correct way to prosperity. Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. It involves catching up to progress that has occurred in areas such as efficiency, productivity, quality of life and risk reduction. They fail to understand that value systems and institutions tend to be culturespecific. The central argument of this theory is that the world economic system is highly unequal in its distribution of power and resources due to. Read this comprehensive essay on modernisation, its meaning theory and characteristics. Modernization is a process which indicates the adoption of the modern ways of life and values.
Modernization is a continuous and openended process. Debates over modernity have been most prominent in the discipline of sociology, created in the nineteenth century specifically to. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance, traditional countries can be brought to development in the same manner more developed countries have. Modernization theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Secondly, modernization theory assumes that western civilisation is technically and morally superior to traditional societies. Earlier the term was only used to refer to change in economy and its related effect on the social va. In either case, modernization is not a onceandforalltime achievement.
In this sense, the dependency theory can be viewed as a reaction to modernization theory. Modernization theory according to macionis 2010, the definition of modernization theory is a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between nations. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that, with assistance, traditional countries can be brought to development in the. Modernization theory and the comparative study of societies. Modernity is defined as a condition of social existence that is significantly different to all past forms of human experience, while modernization refers to the transitional process of moving from traditional or primitive communities to modern societies. Still others critique modernization theory for failing to account for the unsustainable nature of the project, in an environmental sense, and point out that premodern, traditional, and indigenous cultures typically had much more environmentally conscious and symbiotic relationships between people and the planet. The strengths of modernization theory can be defined in several aspects.
The discourse assesses the influence of modernization and dependency theories on africas development. Throughout the certain periods of time modernization theories attempt to identify the social, economic, political, psychological variables which contributed to the social progress and development of certain societies. Dependency theory rejects the limited national focus of modernization theory and emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexity of imperialism and its role in shaping postcolonial states. The basic assumption of this theory, in any of its versions, is that there is one general end page 157 process of which democratization is but the final stage. The dependency theory claims that this is how underdevelopment was created and is still being reproduced. Infrastructure, platforms, systems, applications, robotics, machines and. Modernization theory modernisation theory has been defined as a theory reyes, 2001a that uses a systematic process to move underdeveloped countries to a more sophisticated level of development. Thus, while some associate modernization with industrialization or economic development and others define it more broadly to emphasize mans increasing.
These are the principal theoretical explanations to interpret development efforts carried out especially in the developing countries. Farhan ahmad faiz 2 historical background to modernization theory 1 post world war twos deepening poverty in some countries 2 ideological competition from communism 3 increasing unrest in some countries 4 the above posed a threat to capitalism, and especially the usa 5 this led to the. Modernization is the process of using more modern design and processes in an existing oil. Implies that traditional values in the developing world have little value compared to those of the west. Modernization theory emphasizes internal forces and sources of socioeconomic development such as formal education, marketbased economy, and democratic and secular political structures. Modernization theory describes the transformative processes of societies from underdevelopment to modern societies. The theory argues that societies develop in fairly predictable stages through which they become increasingly complex.
Modernization versus dependency in the context of colonial. Modernization is the systematic sustain and powerful application of human energies to the rational central of mens physical and social environment for human purposes. Reflexive modernization an overview sciencedirect topics. There were times in the 1950s when these problems were not as acute, and a calmative theory dominated. This article delineates the history of modernisation theory. However, if we are to talk about development or modernization, there are a number of advantages to using a stages model. Modernization is the process of changes towards those of development in social, economic and political systems in the 17 th to 19 th century in western europe and north america and follow in 20 th century in eastern europe, latin america, asia and africa. It focusses attention, for example, on the internal logicof social systems, and therefore on their internal. Modernization definition and meaning collins english. Modernization, dependency, rural underdevelopment, african renaissance.
Modernization, modernization theory and its criticism. Information and translations of modernization theory in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Characteristics of political modernization some of the most important characteristics of political modernization are under. Two methodological similarities may be noted at the outset. In recent years the term modernisation has come to be used with starting frequency to. Difference between modernization theory and dependency. Globalization can be defined as the integration of economic, political and. The discourse pins hope on the african renaissance theory of development. Using a simple predictive model based on our revised version of modernization theory, we. Modernisation and the aspirations to modernity are probably the most overwhelming theme which has engaged the attention of sociologists, political scientists, economists and many others. For example, ethiopia and somalia may be neighbouring ldcs but their cultures are quite. Definition of modernization theory in the dictionary. Modernization consists of a gradual differentiation and specialization of social structures.
Using a simple predictive model based on our revised version of modernization theory, we first predict and test the positions that 80 societies should have on a two major dimensions of cross. Briefly, i will give you two definitions of the main features of modern societies. Modernization theory is the theory used to summarize modern transformations of social life. A critical analysis in the changing world situation after the post 1945 era, the development of modernization theory in order to modernise the rest of the world in line with american development is interestingly significant in the history of development studies. The conclusion is that both theories have failed to help develop africa. My own definition refers to the mechanisms of inclusion, value pluralism. Having considered the meaning of the term modernization, the context of modernization theory now needs to be taken into account. Modernization is the process of improving things to be closer to the current state of the art. Bureaucracy, once erected, may also come to play an active role in decisionmaking and thus determine policy evolution. In the words of one of the major proponents, historically, modernization is the process of change towards those types of social, economic, and political systems that have developed in. Modernization theory is also a development theory that emerged before the dependency theory. A critique of modernization and dependency theories in.
Modernization theory both attempts to identify the social variables that contribute to social progress and development of societies and seeks to explain the process of social evolution. Modernization theory is a theory used to explain the process of modernization within societies. This theory focuses specifically on a type of modernization thought to have originated in europe during the 17th century, which brought social mores and technological achievements into a. Walter rostows theory will be analyzed in the second part. In economic terms, the aforementioned definition indicates that for the. Modernization theory is subject to criticism originating among socialist and freemarket ideologies, worldsystems theorists, globalization theorists and dependency theorists among others. However, the way modernization theory suggests for.
Its main tenet is that the periphery of the international economy is being economically exploited drained. Modernization theory is a theory used to explain the process of modernization that a nation goes through as it transitions from a traditional society to a modern one. As is wellknown the theory has somewhat lost its significance. But in the era of socalled globalization, these modernization ideas are facing resistance. Modernization theory stresses the functional necessity of efficient bureaucracy for welfare state development because, without it, effective taxation and administration of complex distributional programs is simply impossible. Defining levelo as ini and leveltlevel0 as devt, and. But still, some of its elements remain nonetheless useful in certain development approaches, like big is beautiful. Yet, their ubiquity notwithstanding, it is quite unclear what sociologists mean by the words theory, theoretical, and theorize.
984 62 492 1522 1641 827 986 634 1027 210 105 1449 1307 1204 97 510 1254 1268 533 1080 291 171 645 875 1596 1347 1345 177 1368 1081 302 815 1157 669 973 895 1487 778 632 579 362 468 323 1404 573 1371 706