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By considering and studying Modernization and Dependency theories, development theorist are trying to conceptualize which of perspectives could more substantially describe Third World underdevelopment. In my preceding work I will critically evaluate tenets of both perspectives. The two spheres of dependency paradigm economical and cultural dependence are in my opinion the major contributors to the Third World, particularly Africa's underdevelopment. As Olayinka Snake has defined, Economic dependence is a term that is widely used to portray the relationship of inequality between the underdeveloped countries and the advanced. Economic dependency experienced by many African nations totally contradicts to the neoclassical theory of a harmonic among components of the global economy. However, in reality there is no evidence of such a harmony, in contrary dependence and exploitation of the Third World economies by the World leaders.
Since many Third World nations are lacking inter-country market place, their economies are heavily relying on the economies of more advanced societies. This in turn gives Western societies a lot of control over the less developed nations economies. As the world capitalist expansion continues the robes of dependency are getting longer as well. What economic dependence does to the country is according to Offing sucking of capital of the dependent countries, so needed for the further domestic expansion. And this is evident in many Third World societies. The most successful manipulators was Western international conglomerates, supported by the government, they applied a variety of methods and techniques with a primary purpose of wealth maximization.
Western nations, realizing their tremendous advantage in technology, and controlling the market for the intermediate goods produced from the raw materials and assembled, probably domestically into the final product, are externally regulate the level of resource utilization in the dependent economies, which in turn affects income distribution, social cohesion, and political stability. On the other hand, the export capacity affects distribution of National Income and the domestic standard of living. So, for most of the Third World countries National Income is determined and could be controlled by external factors. This is a one of the biggest pitfalls for the Third World countries on the way to liberalization. Another inadequacy of the dependency paradigm is a technological dependence in which domestic technology is dependent on imported technology for its transformation.
This implies that external factors and decisions also determine the real level of modernization. It is historically shown that besides from widespread violence, trade, and other factors, economical dependence plays a crucial role in the Third World underdevelopment, couse most of the major economic activities are dependent of the Western decision making, preferences and requirements imposed by them. However, realization of the full control over Third World economies did not stop Western world from invasion into the cultural concepts of the less developed countries. Widespread affects of Westernization are evident through out the Black continent and rest of the Third World. Cultural dependence so intensively persuaded by Western nations, in my opinion, has its roots in the very economic relationship, which actually forms the economic structure of a dependent society. As Uzodinia Nasa from the University of Nigeria noted At the base of this social reality is the economic structure of a society.
Logically I can say that structure of society is formed by economic activities in a society, in turn, structure of society and social activities are reflected in the ideology of a dependent nation. Frederick William G. Hegel noted a system of ideas is only a reflection of mans social activities, not reality itself. So, by controlling economic activities, and participation in the formation of the social structure, Western Imperialists can control the ideas generated in the dependent country.
This form of dependency the most evident in the nations of African continent, and some Latin America nations. Western leaders realized that bloody invasions are not the way to dominate, exploit, and control the main cultural spheres of dependent society. So, they decided that control over dominant social formation will open doors for Imperialists to the dominant mode of production and productive relations in oppressed society. This inadequacy of dependency paradigm is crucial, since it reflects not on the elite class, but on the rest strata of society, making even stronger foundation of the their marginal status in the world economy.
Implicit control over ideological flow in the dependent society would aloud Western nations to influence, political, economic, religious, and legal ideologies. So, who is getting marine in the political, social, and economic world? 90 % of the Third World population and corrupted political leaders of the Third World assist in all possible ways to the demolition of their native society. However, another powerful tool in Western arsenal is education. As Samuel Kojo annotated Probably the most pernicious effect is the predisposition among educated West Africans to uncritically accept and adopt Western cultural norms and values as universally valid By getting incredible assistance form the corrupted leaders of the Third World, west implicitly induces Third World population to participate in what they call development missions, which are actually diametrically opposite to what Third needs and asking for. If back in eighteen hundreds Europeans used their guns and arms for penetration of underdeveloped countries, than now Western leaders are applying much more sophisticated and extremely culturally destructive techniques. In my opinion, aggregation of historical occurrences, and economical and cultural dependencies is what made and keeps Third where it is now.
Another perspective on Third World underdevelopment characterizes through modernization paradigm. From the various perspectives theorists of development are trying to identify what differentiates industrialized and non industrialized societies. McClelland, for example, claims that majority of Third World countries are generally missing a need for achievement. He states that n Achievement will produce more energetic entrepreneurs, who in turn, produce rapid economic development However, I think this is a misconception. There are plenty of entrepreneurs within Third World societies; moreover it was scientifically proven that Africans, for example, show exceptional willingness and openness to innovation. In turn, unavailability of private capital that is being drained from Africa's budgets by Western multinational corporations, government controlled enterprises, and very low level of domestic investment is what keeps African and, Third World in general, entrepreneurs inactive.
Another factor that effects Third World entrepreneurial exposure is unwillingness of Western world to supply underdeveloped nations with a most crucial ingredient of modernization technology. Third World continues to consume western produced goods and services, reading western poetry, thus westernizing selves without real modernization. Ali Mazrui in the tele-series Tools of exploitation extensively described this phenomenon of westernization without modernization. Mazrui argues that even though, Africans show exceptional willingness to adapt or change their institutions to the requirements of economic development they are disparaged by the Western world. Mazrui shows the telephones that do not work, because Africans do not have technology to repair them, asking a question: Where is modernization?
On the other hand McClelland denies that three centuries of Western domination of Africa is a crucial factor in African underdevelopment. I do not think that his theory of n Achievement can explicitly identify reasons for Africa's underdevelopment. Since three centuries of domination and exploitation of Africa's resources settled a social frame on the African and Third World societies. Another tenet of modernization paradigm described by Bert F. Hoselitz.
Hoselitz identifies that one of the factors in Africa's underdevelopment is its fragmentation by external forces, which partially destroyed ones commitment to collectivity, which is highly valued in advanced Asian and some Western nations. Among other cultural factors that can explain very slow growth of Third World countries are prevailing racial and sex discrimination. In my opinion it is one of biggest obstacles for particularly African nations. Racial discrimination, especially in the school system is an enormous pitfall for the African societies. Moreover, Hoselitz noted that people are getting employed not because they earn or deserve it but because they are selected for personal reasons. These are the key tenets of modernization paradigm.
However, does it really capture the present relationship between First and Third World countries? I think that Dependency theories capture much broader spectrum of influences, such as political and economical, which explains more substantially the reasons for Third World
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Research essay sample on Dependency And Third World
