POLS 2080 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Jeffrey Sachs, Modernization Theory, Consumerism

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Political Science
• Course: POLS 2080
• Professor: Steffi Hamann

Document Summary

(cid:862)a(cid:271)solute po(cid:448)erty(cid:863): less tha(cid:374) u . (cid:1006)(cid:1009) per day. Global development project took off after wwii. (cid:1005)9(cid:1009)(cid:1004)(cid:859)s u opti(cid:373)is(cid:373) a(cid:374)d pro(cid:373)ise of progress. Job generation and end of great depression. But: progress did not extend to poor nations in the developing world. Moder(cid:374)izatio(cid:374) theorists (cid:271)elie(cid:448)e that (cid:858)(cid:373)oder(cid:374)(cid:859) (cid:448)alues, te(cid:272)h(cid:374)ologies and institutions are required for societies to develop and advance. Modernization theory is a description and explanation of the processes of transformation from traditional or underdeveloped societies to modern or developed societies. Modernization theory is concerned with economic growth. Necessary ingredients in this process include mechanization and industrialization. Modernization theorists study the conditions that are needed for economic growth to occur. In this view, traditional societies perpetuate economic stagnation and deprive people of their capacity to accumulate wealth. Early (cid:373)oder(cid:374)izatio(cid:374) theory epito(cid:373)izes the (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)epts of the (cid:862)(cid:449)est(cid:863) a(cid:374)d the (cid:862)rest(cid:863) Modernization, in this understanding, essentially refers to the process of western-style development.