Globalisation: Issues in World Change
The Modernisation Thesis:
The Modernisation thesis, which arose as a theory of development largely in the American post war academic establishment, is at the heart of the mission of institutions whose avowed role is global development. The tradition of American academic sociology and economics within which the thesis developed was, and is to some extent still is, the product of one highly influential theorist Talcott Parsons (See The Evolution of Societies 1977) and is broadly within what can be described as the perspective of Structural Functionalism. If you are unfamiliar with this perspective it is difficult to summarise briefly but it can be characterised by allusions to objectivity in social analysis, a concentration on the complexity of social structure and the interrelated functions of individuals and groups, and by a concentration on the transmission of values and consensus in creating stable social systems.
This tradition of sociological thought, in contrast to much twentieth century European Social thought, is not critical or radical and does not attempt to advocate the transformation of society but its continuity.
The post war economic dominance of the USA, which was to be largely responsible for proving the investment that lead to Western Europe and Japan
quickly recovering from the devastation of the war gave practical credence to the vast literature which was appearing addressing the problems of the developing nations.
The immediate question that underlay most of this work was and is why was there such a stark contrast between the development experiences of a handful of western nations and the rest of the world?
The solution advocated and to some extent implemented was the instigation of a Marshall Plan for the Third world. At the core of the theoretical perspective are assumptions about the nature of modernity, the notion of progress and the desirability of both.
Whilst it would be wrong to assert that all the advocates of modernisation have
seamlessly identical solutions to the problems of development a number of key
assumptions are common to all and to the ideology of institutions such as the World Bank (IBRD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that attempt to implement the practical outcome.
Modernisation assumes:
1 That all countries wish to industrialise.
2 That all countries are industrialising.
3 That all countries will eventually succeed and industrialise. That is that industrial society is inevitable.
4 That industrialisation is progress - that "maximum satisfaction of potential is only possible in an industrial society" ( Lerner)
5 That modernisation is relatively easy to achieve since we have the historical
example of the developed nations to follow, including the late industrialisers and the NICs.
There are in addition a series of assertions and assumptions about the nature of
modern (industrial) society and of traditional (pre- or non- industrial ) society. It is asserted that certain features of western society are also directly responsible for its development and that where traditional societies fail to emulate particular social and economic traits commonplace in the industrial world they will fail to develop adequately.
J S and A Valenzuela summarise these assumptions at the core of the modernisation thesis thus:
The basic Building blocks of the modernisation perspective are parallel tradition-modernity ideal types of social organisation and value systems, distinctions borrowed from ninteenth-century sociology. Since societies are understood to move from tradition to modernity, the ideal typical dichotomy constitutes the polar ends of an evolutionary continuum, though at some point incremental changes give way to the qualitative jump into modernity... .Third World Countries... are perceived below the threshold of modernity, with a preponderance of traditional features. (Modernisation and
Dependency -in Comparative Politics [Journal of] July 1978 p.535)
So what are the features of traditional societies that inhibit their development and conversely what features are asserted to have precipitated industrialisation in the West?
The literature is thankfully quite clear in identifying which elements in the two polarities though some variations in inclusion is present- Parsons in particular puts emphasis on the social organisation of the family. Traditional society has a "predominance of ascriptive, particularistic, diffuse and affective patterns of action.." (Valenzuela & Valenzuela 1978) The family is organised differently with a preponderance of extended kinship residences and at least some economic functions are familial. There is relatively little spatial or social mobility partly due to the extended family and partly due to another feature of traditional societies a rigid class or caste system which is itself characterised by a degree of deference. Political structures tend to be authoritarian and undifferentiated with traditional elites and a hierarchical authority structure. Economic activity will largely be dominated by the primary sector - farming and raw material extraction. By contrast the behaviour pattern associated with modern societies are characterised by attributes such as goal rationality, by achievement and by "universalistic, specific and neutral orientations and patterns of action." (Valenzuela & Valenzuela 1978).
The nuclear family will be the dominant mode of familial organisation allowing for a much higher degree of spatial mobility. There will be a complex and highly differentiated occupational structure allowing high rates of social mobility. Secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy will be the principal employment category.
As Valenzuela & Valenzuela state:
In describing the assumptions of the modernisation literature, it is important to note that the modern pole of the parallel ideal types is the pivotal conceptual and analytical point because it best approximates the characteristics that societies must attain in order to develop. The traditional end of the dichotomy is largely a residual category established by logical opposition to the modern end.
The central and most important assertion and assumption of the perspective is that the features of traditional society, its values institutions and patterns of action are both the cause of underdevelopment and the main obstacles on the road to development.
The characteristics of modern society are derived not from any objective scientific analysis of the nature of modernity but simply by the traits of existing societies which are deemed to be modern and the process of their historical development.
The thesis does ascribe particular distinctions to human behaviour in modern societies that are perceived as having had a crucial impact on the process of the development of industrial society. W. Moore agues that the process of modernisation itself is best understood as "the process of rationalization of social behaviour and social organisation" (Modernisation and Rationalization In Economic and Cultural Change XXV 1977 34-35)
Rationalization itself is defined additionally as the; normative expectation that objective information and rational calculus of procedures will be applied in pursuit or achievement of any utilitarian goal... It is exemplified but not exhausted in the use of sophisticated technology in construction and production. (W. Moore 1977)
The values and attitudes in developing countries then are at the heart of their failure to modernise - Despite internal criticism on some grounds the perspective still relates to a process of modernisation that whilst both positive and inevitable requires that developing nations overcome traditional values and institutions and substitute them for more modern ones.
In terms of economic development and in particular in the development of modern agricultural systems the practical implications of modernisation brings about a system of food production which is reliant on high input high yield techniques.
There is both an assertion of the benefits of past technological innovation and an unshakable confidence in the continuing ability of science to provide solutions to the problems of a secure food supply.
The ramifications of technological progress are great. The fact that some countries still lag far behind others implies that there is great scope for future production increases on existing land. More technological breakthroughs are possible. Biogenic research is likely to lead to the development of new crop varieties that require fewer inputs and are more tolerant of pasts. drought and disease. (World Bank, World Development Report 1986)
In terms of the general economic mix it is asserted that the proportion of the population actively involved in food production as an employment sector will decline rapidly during the process of modernisation.
Considerable emphasis is placed on the nation state and the reforming power of individual governments. The right policies will result in modernisation, and we know what the right policies are.
