Modernisation Theory Essay

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Position Paper The Modernization Theory A detour The end of the World War II was marked by the reviewing of everything old and appearing of a lot of new; there was deepening poverty and increasing unrest in some countries (like, Asia, Africa, and Latin America), ideological competition from communism, that further posed a threat to capitalism (esp. the USA) and the expansion in Organized Development Assistance led to the imposition of the Dominant Paradigm. Under the dominant paradigm, many newly independent countries tried to follow the path of leading and developed European and Western countries to be self-sufficient and successful. Advocates of the dominant paradigm, Schramm, Lerner, Pye, Ithiel De Sola Pool and Rostow believed that the process of development involved a transition from traditionalism to modernization in a unidirectional way with countries ultimately reaching the status of Western countries. The race for modernization entailed infrastructural changes, such as dams and highways; social changes, such as getting rid of the perceived ills of traditional beliefs and practices and revamping educational systems with an emphasis on modern science and rationality; and political changes, such as creating an efficient bureaucracy and State apparatus. This three-pronged strategy led to the development of the modernization theory, mainly by the US economists and policy makers that indirectly informed the choices of ‘development’ made by the leaders of many countries. At the same time, the scientific and policymaking world started to realize a great connection between development and world security. The academics tried to find out what constituted development and what actions should be taken to ensure its beginning. The first development perspective to occur was a modernization theory. For a country to be seen as modern, modernization theorists say it has

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