(DTP) 2016 Chap 2
(DTP) 2016 Chap 2
(DTP) 2016 Chap 2
Lecture Notes
By: Adafrew. A (MA, Governance and Development)
2016 E.C
Chapter Two
Theories of Development and Underdevelopment
Unit Objectives
After completing this unit, you are expected to:
Analyze the different features of the modernization
theory.
Explain the Marxian view of development.
Explore the different discourses under the international
dependency revolution on development.
Discuss the theoretical standpoint of the neo-
liberal counterrevolution on development.
Explain the concepts of alternative development and post
development
The Modernization School of Thought
Has roots from the historical North-South relations.
Since the late 1940’s, two related, but non-identical discourses of
dev’t theories emerged.
Modernization theory and the neo-liberal dev’t doctrine.
social organizations.
Different Stages Identified by Rostow
produced at home,
New import requirements develop, and new export
Marx believed that the advent of capitalism set in motion its own final
downfall. He reasoned as follows.
The capitalist system cannot exist without workers.
As more factories are built, more people will be forced to work in them.
Thus, under capitalism, the army of workers will continually expand.
With the expansion of capitalism around the world comes the global creation of a
working class.
Capital will become concentrated in fewer hands.
Those bourgeoisies that are unable to compete will be forced to join the
working class or perish.
This process will continue until one day the proletariat masses will be able to
take control of the system by overthrowing the bourgeoisie, resulting in a
classless society.
No new class will arise because class arises from economic differences, and
capitalism will have eliminated these differences by making everyone a
proletariat.
Economic Theories of Marx
creativity.
By interacting with nature or labor individuals develop and change their
own character.
Work is highly associated with the essence of human beings.
Immanuel Wallerstein
Tries to give an explanation on what made the North rich and what
kept the South poor.
It analyzes/explain the extent to which the political economies of
the South have been exploited by the North and domination of
capitalist countries in the global economy.
The principal tenet of the dependency theory is that
underdevelopment is not a stage on the road to a capitalist society,
but a condition/symptom of capitalist domination.
The Dependency Theory
The dependency theory also rejects the claim that the peripheries
should follow the same path of dev’t followed by the core.
It is argued that there were particular political and economic
conditions that enabled the core to industrialize w/c was based on
the domination/exploitation of natural and human resources in the
colonies.
The process of colonialism integrated the periphery into the world
division of labor by which the major function of the South remained
in the production of raw materials for the European industries.
This had facilitated industrialization in the core at the expense of the
periphery.
Assumptions Shared by many Dependency Theorists
affair.
It is something created by the domination and exploitation of the
There exists a dependent r/nship b/n the core and the periphery.
This dependence has three major features. These are:
technologies.
But most of these technologies are capital intensive and
expensive.
The Third world countries have no option except to borrow
goods and
The South remain in the production and export of primary goods.
countries.
Unbalanced terms of trade, b/n the core at the expense of the
periphery.
This has helped the North to become richer and richer and has
b/c of:
Faulty and inappropriate advices provided by developed countries
and donor agencies;
(uniformed, biased, and ethnocentric international expert advises).
These sophisticated concepts/theoretical structures often lead to
inappropriate policies.
While in government policy discussions too much emphasis is
given to such concepts and theoretical structures, desirable
institutional and structural reforms are neglected or given only
cursory attentions.
… Some Dependency Models on Underdevelopment
divergences between the rich and the poor nations and rich and the poor people on
various levels.
Specifically, the concept of dualism embraces four key elements. These are:
E.g. the coexistence of modern and traditional methods of production in urban and
rural sectors.
This coexistence is chronic and not merely transitional. The international
coexistence of wealth and poverty is not simply a historical phenomenon that will be
rectified in time.
Not only do the degree of ‘superiority’ or ‘inferiority’ fail to show any signs of
diminishing, but they even have an inherent tendency to increase from time to time.
The interrelations between the ‘superior’ and the ‘inferior’ elements are such that the
existence of the superior element does little of nothing to pull up the inferior element,
let alone trickle-down to it.
Critical Comments on International Dependency
Revolution
reasserted.
The re- imposition of the liberal principles-or neo-liberal revolution was
Alternative Development
The Major Concern of Alternative Development
The theory of alternative development is concerned with how
Most theories of dev’t have failed to bring the desired change due to
the following reasons:
Their emphasis on rapid cumulative growth which was not
convoyed by equity.
Most of them were urban biased b/c of their single-minded
emphasis on industrialization where majority of the poor live in
rural areas.
B/c of their emphasis on industrialization, they aren’t
environmentally friendly.
They emphasize on the quantitative aspect of life, not the
qualitative aspect.
They also focus on reducing the economic gap between the rich
and poor countries. Reducing the gap between the rich and poor
people within the society is ignored.
… Alternative Development
Empowerment,
Local self-reliance,
Redistribution Growth
The World Bank was a key advocator of this approach.
The Bank made an assessment that there had been growth, rise in
been changed.
Those who were poor remained poor and even much poorer.
strategy.
… Various Approaches in Alternative Development
Sustainable Development
Dev’t/industrialization have brought about changes/damages in the
environment.
Economic growth impacted the environment and the future
generation.
Sustainable dev’t is a dev’t that meets the needs of the present
generations.
Post-Development
entirely a modern construct. The idea that we can measure poverty at the
level of entire nations and hence label certain countries as poor on the
basis of their GNP (Gross National Product) per capita is quite new.
While in pre-industrial societies, poverty applied to certain individuals
and generally did not carry any implications of personal inadequacy, with
the advent of modernity entire nations and continents were led to believe
that they were poor, and in need of assistance, only because their per
capita income was below a universally established minimum.
The Assumption of the Post-development Thinking
A middle- class, ‘Western-style’ of life and all that goes with it, is
not a realistic or a desirable goal for the majority of world’s
population.
In this sense, dev’t is seen as requiring the loss of indigenous
culture, or environmentally and psychologically rich rewarding
modes of life.
Post-development also challenges the notion of a single path to dev’t
and demands acknowledgment of diversity of perspective and
priorities.
T wo!
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