September 11, 2013 - by admin

Comparison, Contrasts and Similarities Between the Modernization and the Dependency Theory

Introduction

With the world growing rapidly all across the globe and the enhanced integration of countries there has
been very brisk development in the past six decades. Development has seen significant haste after the
World War II (Rapley, 2007). John Rapley (2007) too has tried to explain that the new theories like
Modernization Theory and Dependency Theory form the past try to explain the relationship existing
between various countries in the world and why there exist a difference between the Third World
countries and the developing countries.

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In this context only we refer to the Modernisation Theory and the Dependency Theory which do have
some similarities although the contrasts are more between them. Both the theories throw light on their
views regarding the modern world and the existing relationships and differences between the Third
World nations and developing countries (Liddlw, 1997).

With the help of effective comparison between both these theories it would be simple to explain and
understand the recent trends in the international relationships and the outlook of future world. Along
with this these theories help in assessment of the current situation along with the relationships which
exist between the undeveloped and developing nations in objective manner because of the differences
which exist between the two countries.

Comparison and Contrast between Modernization and Dependency Theories

There exist very substantial differences between the Modernization Theory and The Dependency theory.
It has also been found sometimes that both the theories are antagonistic to each other regarding their
views about the international relationships and the development of the world too. There are major
differences between the two theories especially in relation to the connection between the developed
and developing nations. In fact it has been noticed that the major differences between the
Modernization Theory and Dependency Theory exist from the origin of the Dependency Theory itself
which have been created in response to the Modernization Theory (Theory, Dependency Theory v.
Modernization, 2007). When we do the analysis of the differences between the two theories the major
difference which is found is that the Modernization Theory views the world development and the
association between the developing and the developed countries is that of potentially equal countries
and these countries are at different stages of development at present.

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To state it more accurately Modernization Theory specifies that and is very much fixed about the fact
that the Western nations are well- developed. According to the Modernization Theory the western ways
of development are found to be very successful and thriving and it supports the perspective that there is
no other alternative way of development which exists. This is the reason why the supporters of
Modernization theory emphasise the importance of developing a mutual cooperation between
developing and developed countries so that the developing nations can come closer to the developed
countries. Thus the fact which is stated over here is that Modernization Theory underlines and states the
inevitability of scrounging the experience possessed by developed countries in the West by the
developing Third World Nations (Scott, 1995). Basically the need of the hour is that the Third World
nations should blindly follow the developed western nations as examples in order to achieve prosperity
economically, socially and culturally too. In order to achieve this goal it is mandatory for the developing
countries to develop cooperation in all the spheres of life which should include culture, social, economic,
education and politics relations with the western nations. On the other hand the western countries
being much more advanced than the developing countries should assist them to achieve highest level of
development through various aspects of technical assistance, consulting and education to the Third
World countries.

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Therefore according to the Modernization Theory, the modernisation of the developing countries
politically and socio-economically taking examples of western countries as examples is the only key to
solve the problem of backwardness of the developing or poor countries. The reason being the western
ways of development according to the Modernization Theory is the right way to achieve prosperity
(Modernization theory and Dependency theory, 2005).

While the Dependency Theory stands in striking contrast to the Modernization Theory and highlights the
fact that association between the developed and developing nations is not simply based upon the
mutual assistance between them which keeps on growing rather it is based upon reliance of developing
nations on the Western nations. To elaborate the fact according to the Dependency Theory it is evident
that the Western countries are much more developed and superior than the Third World nations. The
developing countries are thus being forced to choose this way of development however they are not
willing choosing to follow the developed countries as examples of development. They do so to become
the part of the world community and to avoid the isolation of the nation or this is even more drastically
seen as high level intervention of developed nations in their policies. Therefore the supporters of
Dependency Theory believe that Western countries impose their politics and rules on the developing
nations. This depicts that the Third World countries are being forced to follow and accept the western
norms and standards and nay kind of disobedience by the developing nations can lead to cancellation of
economic sanctions or worse still it can also result in military intervention by the developed nations
(Schelkle, 2000). Thus the Dependency Theory completely denies and opposes any development in
western manner as a cure for any kinds of problems existing in developing countries. They believe that
such kind of growing dependence of the developing countries on the developed countries makes the
socio-economic breakthroughs impossible.

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Similarities between the Modernization theory and Dependency Theory

It has been found that the Dependency theory grew due to the criticism of the Modernisation Theory by
the supporters of Dependency Theory. The first main similarity which exists between the two is that both
discuss about the prominent gap present between the developed and developing countries. Both the
Dependency Theory and Modernization Theory state that the due to very high development in the
Western countries they stand out as world leaders, which impacts all the aspects and spheres of life if we
analyse it practically , covering economic, social , political and cultural lives too (Leys, 1996) . Therefore
there is a strong bond between the developing and developed nations.

Furthermore the similarity between the two theories states that the experiences of the western nations
are being followed by the developing and undeveloped countries. These experiences start developing in
the same way as that of developed nations, but then too they are unable to catch-up with the fast
development trends of developed countries and therefore lag behind in the world of development.

Another fact which both theories state is that there exist an unequal relationship and association
between the developed and developing countries. Although their views regarding the dependence of
developing nations on the developed countries are a bit contrasting, but both the theories basically
point towards the dominant position and ranking of western countries which leaves very less space for
the others to adopt for development except for their own western way of development.

Therefore it becomes imperative to mention that both the theories are very ethnocentric in some or the
other way because both of them ignore any other practical way of development of the Third World
nations. Instead both always keep on stating that the western countries development is the only
example which the developing countries need to follow whether willingly or forcible, while on the other
hand they do not look for any alternative ways for the development of Third World countries (Preston,
1996). It becomes all the more important to mention the case of China over here which is progressing
fatly economically and that too without following the dominant western way of development. But China
does not meet the basic assumptions of both the theories (Rapley, 2007).

Conclusion

Thus from the above discussion it is evident that the Modernization and the Dependency Theories are
quite similar in their views related to the modern world. That is both the theories accept the fact that
the western ways of development makes the western nations the leaders of the world. This is the reason
why the developed countries rule the modern world. While the developing nations are considered to be
examples of socio-economic and political backwardness. Both the theories agree to the fact that the
mutual cooperation between the developing and western countries is growing leading to integration.
Modernization Theory believes that social equality is the result of material growth while Dependency
Theory believes that eth dependent country enhances social inequality which can lead to political
authoritarianism (Modernization theory and Dependency theory, 2005).

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However the Modernisation Theory visualises this integration and cooperation as the conscious and
voluntary actions which are being taken by the developing nations because they believe that the western
style of modernisation is the only solution to overcome their backwardness. On the other hand the
supporters of Dependency Theory believe that the developed nations impose these integration and
cooperation on the developing countries because they simply try to achieve maximum benefits from
such kind of cooperation’s which they create with Third World countries (Gilman, 2003). The developed
nations use westernisation as a simple tool to gain control over and enhance the dependency of the
developing nations on the developed ones.

Comparison Of Dependency Theory With Modernization Theory Politics Essay

Posted at 27.12.2018

Modernization is a theory that talks about the home factors of any country with the assumption that,
with help underdeveloped countries can be brought to development in using the same methods that
more developed countries used. Modernization theory targets the public elements which help in social
progress and development of societies, and further aims to describe the process of social development.
This theory not only stresses the procedure of change but also the results of that change. Furthermore,
it talks about internal functions of any society while referring to social and ethnical buildings and the
version of new ways of living. This is because internal situations in societies greatly affect the operations
of modernization. A country where favorites are rewarded and governmental problem is rampant
hampers the state's potential to effectively improve in terms of modernization. This adversely influences
the state's economical development and efficiency and eventually brings about the country's money and
resources to stream out to other countries with more advantageous investment environments. Such
mechanisms slow the procedure of modernization and consequently the country falls into internal
conflicts so as to aid the process of modernization credited to scarcity of resources. Alternatively
Modernization has through the years been hastened by globalization- as the planet has become
integrated on many levels (political, economic, and cultural); modernization has been able to propagate
across edges through the fact so it has encouraged the introduction of a global overall economy that
centers greatly on better usage of resources and method of production, technology- which is a major
contributor to interpersonal change through the fact that the release of new solutions forces visitors to
adopt to them thus promoting communal change, secularization of societies- this contributes to
modernization by the actual fact that folks become less superstitious and are therefore more welcoming
to change and consumption of more modern resources open to them. Despite all the excellent results of
modernization, it and yes it negative area as it leads to higher pollution levels and over populace
especially in cities, increased crime, spaces in the sociable structures including the rich and the
poor(wealthy become wealthy, the emergence of your middle class and the poor seem to struggle even
more due to higher cost of living), local ethnicities undergo and the monetary markets tend to be more
beneficial to the already developed countries as their products tend to be competitive as they have been
through the modernization process for a longer time than the developing

Modernization is therefore measured by the following factors:

Economic growth

Increased urbanization

Technological progress

Secularization

On the other palm, the dependency theory targets the actual fact that resources movement from the
indegent and underdeveloped expresses to the already developed states while enriching the last
mentioned while the poorer claims continue struggling. Poor expresses are impoverished and wealthy
ones enriched due to the power syndication in the international system. The main element tenets of
dependency theory are that: Poor nations provide natural resources, cheap labor, a location for obsolete
technology, and markets for developed countries, without which the wealthier nations cannot have the
typical of living they enjoy. Furthermore, wealthy nations actively power circumstances of dependence
by various means which can vary from economics, advertising control, politics, banking and money,
education, culture, sport, and everything aspects of human being reference development. Finally that
wealthy nations normally hamper tries by dependent nations to battle their affects through economical
sanctions and/or the use of military push. Dependency theory state governments that the poverty of the
countries in the periphery is not because they're not part in to the developed world system but because
of the place they carry in the machine.

The theory arose around 1970 as a reaction to some earlier theories of development like the
modernization theory which said that all societies progress through similar levels of development, and
that underdeveloped areas are thus in a similar situation to that of today's developed areas at some time
before, and that which means task in helping the underdeveloped areas out of poverty is to speed up
them along this expected common avenue of development, by various means such as investment,
technology transfers, and closer integration in to the world market.

First of most, it should be said that Dependency theory originated in response to Modernization theory
out of large criticism of the latter theory by the followers of Dependency theory. Normally, this fact
driven the main difference between these ideas, but, nevertheless, there are still certain similarities
between Modernization and Dependency ideas.

Speaking about the similarities, it is primarily necessary to explain that both ideas pay a lot of attention
to the distance existing between developed countries and undeveloped ones owned by the third world.
To place it more accurately, Modernization and Dependency theory stand on the floor that Traditional
western countries will be the world leaders because of the more impressive range of development,
which affects pretty much all spheres of life, including monetary, political, social, and even social life
(Leys, 210). As a result, there exist a strong website link between developed and expanding countries.

Furthermore both ideas state that the experience of developed countries is accompanied by developing
and undeveloped countries, which essentially develop in the same way as developed countries but
nonetheless they cannot catch the latter up and remain in the rearguard of the world development. In
stark distinction, developed countries play the main element role in the development of the complete
world and the integration of most countries of the world in the global current economic climate is one of
the major ways of connections between developed and producing countries and both theories agrees
that this interaction constantly increases.

At the same time, both Modernization and Dependency theories underline that the interactions
between developed and producing countries is unequal and there can be found some sort of
dependence of growing countries on developed ones, though the views upon this dependence vary
significantly. Nevertheless, both ideas underline the prominent position of American countries in the
modern world and leave little room for the alternative means of the development however the
traditional western one, which is viewed as the only way of the introduction of the near future world in
the context of the global current economic climate.

It is worth mention that both theories are ethnocentric in ways because they virtually ignore the
possibility of the alternative development of expanding countries but, instead they demand that the
development of western countries would be the example growing countries, willingly or not, will follow,
while, at the same time, they don't really admit the alternative ways of development of countries of the
3rd world (Preston, 137). However, it is worthy of mention the exemplory case of China which current
economic climate is progressing quickly but its way of development differs significantly from the
prominent american way, but this country does not meet to the basic assumptions of either of the ideas.

In spite of existing similarities between Modernization theory and Dependency theory, distinctions
between them are a lot more substantial and it is even possible to estimate that these theories are
antagonistic in their views on the development of the world and international romantic relationships,
especially on the partnership between developed and growing countries. Actually, differences between
Modernization theory and Dependency theory derive from the foundation of Dependency theory which,
as it's been mentioned previously above, was developed in response to Modernization theory. On
studying existing differences between the two theories, to begin with, it's important to underline that
Modernization theory views the introduction of the globe and relationships between developed and
growing countries as the interactions of potentially equal countries which are just at another type of
stage of development at this time. To put it more accurately, Modernization theory stands on the ground
that traditional western countries are well-developed and traditional western way of development is
viewed as the most successful and perspective since there is nearly no other alternatives to the way of
the development. This is why the supporters of this theory insist upon the necessity to build up the
cooperation between developed and developing countries to make the latter closer to the former.
What's meant this is actually the idea that Modernization theory underlines the need of borrowing the
knowledge of american countries by expanding countries of the Third world (Scott 196). Essentially,
developing countries should follow blindly the example of more developed american countries which
will bring them economic, cultural, and cultural success.

Naturally, to achieve this goal, developing countries should develop their co-operation in every spheres
of life, including overall economy, politics, culture, education, and social relations, with european
countries, while the latter, being more advanced compared to growing countries should help them
achieve the best degree of development through education, technological assistance and consulting of
countries of the Third world. In such a way, this theory views modernization of socio-economic and
politics life of expanding countries based on the example of american countries as the one possible
solution of the challenge of backwardness of poor countries since western way of development is,
matching to Modernization theory, is the sole appropriate way to wealth.

In stark compare to Modernization theory, Dependency theory underlines that associations between
producing and developed countries are founded not on the growing assistance between them but rather
on the dependence of developing countries on developed ones. To place it more accurately, followers of
Dependency theory stand on the ground that european countries are actually more complex than
producing countries however the last mentioned follow their example not only because they're willing to
do so nor because they really think that american way of development is very better but, in contrast,
they are obligated to find the same way of development as western countries have already made in
order to become a part of the world community and prevent the isolation of the united states or,
furthermore, even the intervention of european countries in their coverage. In this respect, it is
necessary to underline that followers of Dependency theory claim that european countries impose their
politics and their rules to producing countries forcing them to accept western benchmarks and norms,
while any disobedience from the part of growing countries threatens by monetary sanctions or even
military involvement from the part of developed countries (Schelkle, 231).

In such a way, unlike Modernization theory, Dependency theory will not view the decision and only
western way of development as the panacea from all problems or as a mindful choice that is very
supported by the population and elite of expanding countries but such westernization of developing
countries can be regarded as a violent disturbance of developed countries in the life of the 3rd world. In
a natural way, such an insurance plan brings about the growing dependence of growing countries on
developed ones and, therefore, makes the socio-economic breakthrough impossible. On the other hand,
Modernization theory thinks in its possibility due to the modernization of socio-economic and political
life of developing countries and their closer cooperation with developed countries, which is supposed to
be a conscious and eager act of expanding countries looking for ways to prosperity.

Conclusion

Thus, considering all previously listed, you'll be able to conclude that Modernization theory and
Dependency theory are similar in their views on the modern world. To put it more exactly, both theories
confess the command of western countries and their presently dominating position in today's world,
while undeveloped countries are seen as a socio-economic and politics backwardness. At the same time,
the two ideas agree that the assistance between western countries and producing countries is
continually growing and brings about their integration.

However, it is necessary to underline that Modernization theory views such cooperation and integration
as a mindful and voluntary action from the part of growing countries, for which modernization in the
western style is the only way to overcome the existing backwardness, while followers of Dependency
theory claim that such co-operation and integration is imposed to growing countries by more complex
traditional western countries, which simply try to reap the benefits of their cooperation with producing
countries and their westernization becomes a means of the establishment of control over and growing
dependence of developing countries on developed ones.

Regardless, the prevailing differences, both ideas still raise a very important problem of associations
between developed and growing countries and the dominance of traditional western countries and
traditional western civilization in today's world.