Marie Chantal L.

Claravall
MA IS
Development of Modernization

The naturalist assumptions may be applied when discussing development in a

country such as Brazil wherein there exists abundance in natural resources and a
booming population. Another state which comes to mind is China due to its transition to
a highly competitive industrial economy through its economic specialization and
division of labor which in turn promoted greater political right and armed might called
super-organic evolution. This theory is highly relevant, however, there is also the
question of states such as Africa, which possess many natural resources and high
population density, here in this dynamic we see that the interaction of people does not
necessarily facilitate the generation of invention, innovation, and progress but more
internal and external conflict. This, also, is however greatly due to the imperial conquest
and economic domination by powerful societies over traditional societies asserted by
Ratzel; the beginning of modernization. Furthermore, the reading also asserted that in
the late 19th century, people began to realize that nature and society, though inextricably
linked, are much more complex than naturalist claims, thus emerged the rationalist
theories.

At the heart of rational theories laid the concepts of transcendence and

predestination which were identified by Weber within the Calvinist faith that drove the
general population. Due to transcendence, they were free to think in terms of natural,
physical, and real material causation while predestination pushed them to succeed
economically for assurance of a happy afterlife. It was argued that it was only in the
West where rationalism brought returns to the society through development of science
and technology and mathematics which of course we now know is only an attempt to
assert the Western culture as highly civilized when in truth, states within continents like
Asia had already had developed systems of science, technology, and mathematics.

Structural functionalism is where we can see the first stage of creating universal
norms seeing that the social function dimension constituted the adaptation, goal
attainment, integration and latency. That being said, this is where we are able to identify
that this integration of cultural patterns within a social system was the start of sustaining
such inequality between Western states and the colonial projects.

In the sociological modernization theory, we see here how the gradual

modernization of societies aided the agenda of Western states to forward
industrialization and democracy in order to attain the resources of other societies; hence,
I do not agree that this spread of democracy necessarily weakened the elites.

The economic modernization theory saw a change in perspective since it focused on

the shift of political power away from traditional leaders and toward control by
economic and urban modernizers in undeveloped countries. This is the only theory
which somehow acknowledged the need to help third world economies through small-
scale private economic development followed by the psycho cultural theories which
again, proved to be a way in which westernization could be forwarded.

In conclusion, reviewing all these theories on the development of modernisation

can bring one to conclude that the word modernisation in its very essence is one of
westernization. The development of this modernisation was more Eurocentric or based
on western perceptions to advance their norms and principles which they regarded as
modern.

Reference:
Peet, R. & Elaine Hartwick. (1999). Theories of Development. New York: The Guilford
Press.