College of Arts and Sciences

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Master in Public Management and Development

Modernization Theory

Modernization Theory

-is a theory used to explain the process of Modernization withinsocieties. The theory looks at the internal factors of a countrywhile assuming that, with assistance, "traditional" countriescan be brought to development in the same manner moredeveloped countries have.

-It attempts to identify the social variables which contribute tosocial progress and development of societies, and seeks toexplain the process of social evolution.

-It also looks at internal dynamics while referring to social andcultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies

TRADITIONAL SOCIETY

TECHNOLOGY

MODERN SOCIETY

GLOBALIZATION

INTERNAL FACTORS

Modernization Theory

TRADITIONAL / SEGMENTAL

SOCIETY

MODERN SOCIETY

The Theory: Emile Durkheim

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917),French social theorist, who wasone of the pioneers in thedevelopment of modern sociology.He utilized scientific methods toapproach the study of society andsocial groups. Durkheim believedthat individuals are products ofcomplex social forces and cannotbe considered outside of thecontext of the society in whichthey live. He used the conceptionof the collective conscience todescribe the condition of aparticular society.

Traditional Society

- People performed the limited tasks of a simple agrarian community based on groups of families or clans in village settlements

- One village or group is in “mechanical solidarity” with the other.

-Each group is relatively self-contained (farming, childrearing, etc)

-Division of labor is restricted

VILLAGE

VILLAGE

VILLAGE

Modern Society

- Emerge due to the increasing number of population and its density which leads to a more competing society

- Resources becomes scarce

-Division of labor became more complex and created an increasing interdependency among people

-Specialized institutions were formed by people to deal with the particular needs of the society

FOOD

CLOTHING

HEALTH CARE

The Theory: Max Weber

Max Weber (1864-1920),German economist and socialhistorian, known for his systematicapproach to world history and thedevelopment of Westerncivilization. Challenged by theMarxist theory of economicdeterminism, Weber combined hisinterest in economics withsociology in an attempt toestablish, through historical study,that historical causation was notinfluenced merely by economicconsiderations.

RATIONALISM

CAPITALISM IN WESTERN EUROPE

Ethos of Modern Capitalism

- Western Europeans practiced careful investment of capital

- Rational ethos of the “spirit of capitalism” is the principal factor and not making money

-Economic vs. Religious

EAST WEST

Calvinism: Protestant Ethic

- The distinctive care, calculation and hard work of Western business wasencouraged by the development of the protestant ethic

- Religious concerns of “predestination” and “damnation” helped fashiona work ethic which was in tune with the spirit of capitalism

SPIRIT OF CAPITALISM

The Theory: Talcott Parsons

Talcott Parsons (1902-1979), American sociologist,whose theories about themechanisms of society andthe organizational principlesbehind societal structuresinfluenced sociology.

Parsons developed a general theory for the study of society called action theory, based on the methodological principle of voluntarism and the epistemological principle of analytic realism. The theory attempted to establish a balance between two major methodological traditions. For Parsons, voluntarism established a third alternative between these two.

UTILITARIAN –POSITIVIST TRADITION

HERMENEUTIC –IDEALISTIC TRADITION

Tradition vs. Modernity

Modernity

Tradition

Tradition vs. Modernity

TRADITION

• VALUE OF TRADITIONALISM IS DOMINANT

• KINSHIP SYSTEM IS THE DECISIVE REFERENCE POINT FOR ALL SOCIAL PRACTICES

• EMOTIONAL, SUPERSTITIOUS AND FATALISTIC APPROACH TO THE WORLD

MODERNITY

• PEOPLE ARE NOT SLAVES TO TRADITION

• KINSHIP HAS A VERY MUCH LESS ROLE; MOTIVATION

• MODERN SOCIETY IS FORWARD-LOOKING AND INNOVATIVE

The Theory: Abba Lerner

Abba PtachyaLerner (October 28,1903 – October 27,1982) was an Americaneconomist. Lerner wasborn on October 28,1903. He grew up in aJewish family, whichemigrated to GreatBritainwhen Lerner wasthree years old. Fromthe age of sixteen heworked as a machinist,a teacher in Hebrewschools, and as abusinessman. Heentered the LondonSchool of Economics in1929 where he wouldstudy under FriedrishHayek. A six-month stayat Cambridge in 1934–1935 brought him intocontact with Keynes.

TRANSITIONAL SOCIETY

MODERNITY

Modern Society

- Traditional society is non-participant – it deploys people by kinship into communities isolated form each other

- The more “empathetic” the society is, the more it will become modern

-In modern society, more individuals exhibit higher empathetic capacity than any previous society

EMPATHY

EMPATHY

EMPATHY

On Tradition

Modernization theorists often saw traditions as obstacles to economic growth.Furthermore, while modernization might deliver violent, radical change fortraditional societies it was thought worth the price. Critics insist that traditionalsocieties were often destroyed without ever gaining promised advantages if,among other things, the economic gap between advanced societies and suchsocieties actually increased. The net effect of modernization for some societieswas therefore the replacement of traditional poverty by a more modern form ofmisery, according to these critics. Others point to improvements in livingstandards, physical infrastructure, education and economic opportunity torefute such criticisms

The Theory: Walt Whitman Rostow

Walt Whitman Rostow(October 7, 1916 – February 13,2003) was an Americaneconomist and political theorist.His The Stages of EconomicGrowth: A Non-CommunistManifesto (1960) concentrateson the economic system side ofthe modernization, trying toshow factors needed for acountry to reach the path tomodernization in his Rostoviantake-off model

TRADITIONAL SOCIETY

PRECONDITIONS FOR TAKE-OFF

TAKE-OFF

DRIVE TO MATURITY

AGE OF HIGH MASS-CONSUMPTION

ROSTOVIAN TAKE-OFF MODEL

Summary

1. There is a clear mixture of sociological, psychological and economic features to modernization theory

2. Most accounts give greatest priority to the role played by the values, norms and beliefs of people in determining the sort of society

3. The history of the development of industrialization in the West is no longer regarded as something unique but as blueprint for development throughout the world

4. The evolution of societies occurs as traditional behavior patterns give way under the pressures of modernization

5. Process of “modernization by diffusion” should encourage the development of a number of features in the Third World

6. Different societies are at different stages of development

Theoretical Implications

1. Lack of development is seen as a condition prior to development

2. Lack of development is the fault of Third World countries’ socio-economic systems that create obstacles to modernization

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 those countries which are now socialist states

5. The Western economies will continue to grow and develop so that they enjoy the prosperity of the period of “high mass consumption”

The

Cr

i

t

ique

PRINCIPAL TERMS OF THE THEORY ARE MUCH TOO VAGUE TO BE OF MUCH USE

AS CLASSIFICATIONS OF DISTINCT SOCIETIES

ALTHOUGH THE THEORY IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE WAY SOCIETY DEVELOPS

THERE IS A LITTLE EXPLANATION OFFERED FOR THIS PROCESS

ABANDONMENT OF THE TRADITIONAL WAY DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN

THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN SOCIETY

AS INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION DEVELOP THE WIDER KINSHIP

SYSTEM IS WEAKENED AS PEOPLE BECOME PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH THEIR OWN

NUCLEAR FAMILY

WEBER’S THESIS IS DISTORTED BY MCCLELLAND’S THEORETICAL HANDIWORK

IT SEEMS THAT PEOPLE MAY BE ABLE TO USE THEIR “TRADITIONAL” ROLES AND EXPECTATIONS AS RESOURCES THAT CAN BE DRAWN ON TO SERVE THEOR SOCIAL AND MATERIAL NEEDS

IT ENTIRELY IGNORES THE IMPACT OF COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM ON THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

Conclusions

• Modernization theory is clearly anoversimplified model of development thatlacks two essential ingredients: an adequatehistorical input and a structural perspective

• Historically: It ignores wealth of evidence

• Structurally: It is insensitive to the specificways of economic growth may be interpretedor modified within existing socialrelationships

Daghang Salamat

Kenzlee E. YbañezSangguniang Barangay Secretary

Basak, Lapu-lapu City 6015Cebu, Philippines