Where did all these poor people come from?

First, Second, and Third Worlds.

Orthodox theories of development as modernization are based on two assumptions -

The world consists of autonomous countries where social change is viewed as operating within each separate society.

Social change operates as a series of parallel paths for all societies.

Rostow's stages of growth:

· Stage 5 - age of mass consumption

· Stage 4 - drive to maturity

· Stage 3 - take-off

· Stage 2 - preconditions

· Stage 1 - traditional

At one end, irrational and non-progressive traditional society.

At the other end a rational and progressive modern society.

The process: modernization

'Traditional' society invokes "characteristics of societies which were once universal, but which are now only to be found in poorer countries" (Taylor p.306).

Poverty is seen to be a product of backwardness. Traditional societies can develop by catching up to the leader. (Verhelst)

Challenges to orthodox development theory:

Dependency theory - two paths -Rich countries show impressive growth in the core.-Poor countries show impressive under-development in the periphery.

The development of under-development: some are kept at the bottom by those at the top.

Core-periphery is seen to also exist inside poor countries. A national elite marginalizes the poor.

Development and under-development - two sides of the same coin.

Wallerstein: World Systems Theory"History consists of the rise and fall of world empires as distinct entities successively incorporating and releasing mini-systems." (Taylor p.314)

Orthodox models "resolutely avoid the study of the international structure of development and under-development of which the domestic structure is just a part." (Frank)

Prescription: Poor countries must break away and base development on their own needs.

Import Substitution Industrialization: High tariffs protect local nascent industries.

Now globalization is doing away with many tariffs.

Discussion:

What does it mean to develop?

Frank, A.G. 1967 'Sociology of Development and the Underdevelopment of Sociology' Catalyst, Summer 1967, pp.20-73

Johnston, R.J., Derek Gregory, Geraldine Pratt, Michael Watts 2000 The Dictionary of Human Geography Blackwell Publishers, Oxford:

Taylor, Peter 1989 'The Error of Developmentalism in Geography' Horizons in Human Geography, Macmillan, New York: pp.303-319

Verhelst, T 1990 No Life Without Roots Zed Books, London:

Wallerstein, I 1979 The Capitalist World Economy Cambridge U. Press