Reading Material on Modernisation Theory PDF

# Introduction to the Sociology of Development ## 3 Modernisation Theory ### 3.1 Introduction - Chapter 2 explains that there is considerable inequality and poverty in the world today. - The nature of this disadvantage depends on perceptions of social and material needs and thereby how a society...

# Introduction to the Sociology of Development ## 3 Modernisation Theory ### 3.1 Introduction - Chapter 2 explains that there is considerable inequality and poverty in the world today. - The nature of this disadvantage depends on perceptions of social and material needs and thereby how a society should develop. - The policies of planned social change implemented today are rooted in the general conceptions of socio-economic change and development that can be traced back to the 19th century. - There was widespread interest in socio-economic change among European scholars in the 19th century. - This was in part a reflection of the circumstances of the time. - The period saw the rapid expansion of industrial manufacturing, growth in population and urban centres, and the increasing political and bureaucratic activity of the state. - Processes of industrialisation, political and bureaucratic activity in the nineteenth century were not initiated then but much earlier, in the British case, as early as the 1600s. - All European countries did not experience these developments to the same degree. - Many remained relatively untouched by industrialisation. - However, within certain countries, particularly Britain, France and Germany, the pace and extent of change were massive. ### 3.2 The Theoretical Origins of Modernisation Theory - Modernisation theory is rooted in the ideas of Durkheim and Weber. #### Emile Durkheim - The crucial question for Durkheim was how do people combine in stable groups to form cohesive societies and what is the nature of their relationship to one another as society grows and becomes more complex? - Durkheim tried to answer this question in *The Division of Labour in Society*, published in 1893. - He proposes that there are two basic types of society: the traditional and the modern. - Traditional societies have very different forms of social cohesion. - The people of a traditional society perform limited tasks in a simple agrarian community. - Social cohesion is based on the simple common life style and beliefs that prevail within and between settlements. - Durkheim calls this form of cohesion *mechanical solidarity*. - The modern society is contrasted with the traditional. - The basic mechanism that undermines the traditional way of life is the ever increasing number and density of the population, which leads to more people competing for relatively scarce resources. - Durkheim believed that in these circumstances, society must adapt to the circumstances, or go under. - The problem is resolved by a gradual increase in the social division of labour. - As a society grows and becomes more complex, social differentiation occurs as specialised institutions are formed. - Durkheim calls this form of cohesion *organic solidarity*: each part, like a natural organism, is specialised and reliant on others. - The modern system creates a new pattern of morality and a system of norms; these social rules are less rigid than those of a traditional society since they have to act as guides for much more complex and diverse social activities. - This means that the ‘modern’ individual has a much greater freedom of action within a general set of moral constraints. - Durkheim believed that this carries potential dangers to society if the individual’s desires and ambitions get out of step with the general moral code. - If individuals become dissatisfied with life then social cohesion begins to break down. - Durkheim’s theory is then, relatively limited in its explanatory power because it only provides descriptions of the modernising process. - It is also speculative with little regard for historical evidence. #### Max Weber - Like Durkheim, Weber sought to explain the emergence of industrialisation, focusing on why capitalist manufacturing became dominant only in the economies of Western Europe. - Weber believed that the basic explanation for this occurrence was the existence of a cultural process peculiar to Western society, namely, rationalisation. - Weber proposed that a cultural process that was crucial for the expansion of capitalist manufacturing was the rational organisation of business enterprise to establish steady profitability and the accumulation of capital. - This involved an assessment of the most efficient use of capital, expansion through cost reduction and diligent investment, a continual effort to better one’s competitors, and an attempt to meet consumer demands. - Capitalist activity would bring good profits, but making money was not the principal factor. - It was the rational ethos of the ‘spirit of capitalism’ that brought about the transition from just money-making to large-scale capitalist enterprise. - This ethos is unique to the West. - Weber believed that the distinctive care, calculation and hard work of Western businesses was encouraged by the development of the Protestant ethic. - It came to pre-eminence in the 16th Century and was promoted most forcefully by the doctrines of Calvinism. - The main doctrine is predestination: God has already decided on the saved and the damned. - No one can know whether they are one of the chosen few. - Salvation cannot be earned through good works or declarations of faith. - This belief must have aroused considerable anxiety among followers of Calvin. - Weber suggested that believers must have experienced ‘salvation panic’. - The only way to bring about a degree of calm, claimed Weber, would be to think that, like the good tree that cannot bear evil fruit, people could not be successful in this world without God’s blessing. - This explains why the doctrine of unknowable predestination was made less awesome by believing that success was a sign (though never a proof) of election. - Weber’s theory supports his propositions with historical evidence. - Weber argued that Western business was encouraged by the Protestant ethic which came to pre-eminence in the 16th century. ### 3.3 Modernisation Theory - In the 1950s and early 1960s modernisation theory was developed by a number of social scientists, particularly the American scholar Talcott Parsons. - The interest in modernisation was due to the decline of the old colonial empires. - Third World countries became a focus of attention by politicians who were keen to show countries pushing for independence that sustained development was possible under the Western wing. - Academics reflected this interest by examining the socio-economic conditions conducive to modernisation. ### 3.4 Summary of Modernisation Theory and Its Implications - There’s a mixture of sociological, psychological and economic features to modernisation theory. - Most accounts give greatest priority to the role played by values, norms and believes of people in determining the sort of society they create. - The history of the development of industrialisation in the West is no longer regarded as something unique but as the blueprint for development throughout the world. - The evolution of societies occurs as traditional behaviour patterns give way under the pressure of modernisation. - The process of modernisation by diffusion should encourage the development of a number of features in the Third World: - urbanisation based on nuclear family households; - educational growth for literacy and training; - the development of mass media to disseminate ideas and encourage increased awareness about society; - heightened political awareness and participation in a democratic system; - increased business opportunities through providing capital for investment; - the replacement of patterns of authority based on traditional loyalties with a rational system of law coupled with representative national government. - Different societies are at different stages of development because they have been more or less successful in introducing the features of modernity. **What are the implications for understanding development?** 1. Lack of development is seen as a condition prior to development: that is, that present day Third World societies are underdeveloped countries gradually moving towards modernity. 2. Lack of development is the ‘fault’ of Third World countries' socio-economic systems that create obstacles to modernisation and encourage little ambition or incentive among individuals. 3. Development is presented as a relatively straightforward process of efficient social adaptation to periods of strain. 4. Development occurs not only along Western lines for Third World societies but also for those countries which are now socialist states. 5. The Western economies will continue to grow and develop. ### 3.5 The Critique of Modernisation Theory - Modernisation theory claims to identify the factors crucial for economic development such as achievement motivation and a decline in the significance of extended family relationships. - It may be the case that substantial economic growth cannot occur without changes in, say, technology, the level of capital investment and market demand, but such growth does not require changes to value systems and social institutions. - The principal terms of the theory — the ‘traditional’ and the ‘modern’ — are too vague to be of much use. - The theory does not offer an explanation of what causes the process of change. - It incorrectly assumes that the traditional and modern societies are mutually exclusive. - The theory incorrectly suggests that as urbanisation develops, the wider kinship system is weakened as people become primarily concerned with their own nuclear family. - The theory relies too heavily on Weber’s ideas. - The theory entirely ignores the impact of colonialism and imperialism on Third World countries. ### 3.6 Conclusion - Modernisation theory is clearly an oversimplified model of development that lacks two essential ingredients: an adequate historical input and a structural perspective. - It ignores a wealth of historical evidence that indicate that the process of economic growth cannot be encapsulated in simplistic notions about the displacement of ‘traditional’ values systems and institutions by ‘modern’ ones. - In reality, modernisation theory is insensitive to the specific ways in which factors for economic growth may be interpreted, modified or accommodated within existing social relations. - The theory ignores the inequalities of power and social class that structure these relationships. - It is right to focus our attention on the role of values and attitudes in affecting people’s behaviour and thereby their response to and fashioning of social change. - The relationship between values and the economic context is a complex and dynamic process inadequately conceived by the traditional values/traditional economy — modern values/modern economy dualism of modernisation theory.