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ECONOMIC SCIENCES / «©SyyOMUM-JOUTMaL» #3211115)), 20222
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UDC: 330.8
Akhundova Aytakin Gasan
Ph. D, lecturer at the department of World Economy Baku State University, Azerbaijan DOI: 10.24412/2520-6990-2022-32155-28-30 THEORETICAL STUDY OF THE MODERNIZATION PROCESS.
Abstract
The article examines the theory of modernization from both an economic and a political perspective. The views of many scientists on this issue are being studied. It is believed that modernization is a gradual and progressive process, which is ultimately not only inevitable but also desirable. This is the process of Europeaniza-tion or Americanization. Besides, modernization is an irreversible process, once modernization has begun, it can no longer be stopped. Eventually, modernization is a long process. This is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary one. According to modernization theory, modern societies are more productive, children are better educated, and those in need are better off.
Keywords: concept, modernization theory, process, modern society, research.
The use of the term "modernization" in its contemporary meaning has a relatively recent origin and has become a generally accepted part of the vocabulary of American, if not international, social science in the decade of the 1960s. Despite its relatively quick spread and increasing popularity, the term does not seem to correspond to any widespread consensus regarding its exact meaning.
The popularity of the concept of modernization should not be sought in its clarity and accuracy as a means of scientific communication, but rather in its ability to evoke vague and generalized images that serve to summarize all the various transformations of social life accompanying the rise of industrialization and the nation-state at the end of the XIII and XIX centuries.
The principal theories of development are modernization, world-system dependencies and globalization. These are the main theoretical explanations for interpreting development efforts, especially in developing countries. These theoretical perspectives let us not only clarify notions to establish them from an economic and social perspective but also define recommendations from the social policy perspective.
Here, the term "development" is understood as a social state within a nation in which the genuine needs of its population are met through the rational and sustainable use of natural resources and systems. This use of natural resources is based on technology that takes into account the cultural characteristics of the population of a given country. This general definition of development includes an indication that they have access to organizations, basic services such as education, housing, health and nutrition, and, above all, that their culture and traditions are respected within the social structure of a particular country.
From an economic perspective, the definition of modernization implies that there are employment opportunities for the population of the country, meeting at least basic needs and achieving a positive rate of distribution and redistribution of national wealth. In a political sense, this definition emphasizes the legitimacy of
state systems, not only in terms of the law but also in terms of providing social benefits to the majority of the population.
According to Alvin So, three major historical factors contributed to the emergence of the modernization theory of development after the Second World War [1, p. 36]. The first is the rise of the United States as a superpower. While other Western countries such as Britain, France and Germany were weakened by World War II, the United States emerged from the war strengthened and emerged as a world leader thanks to the implementation of the Marshall Plan to rebuild war-torn Western Europe.
Secondly, there was the spread of a single-world communist movement. The former Soviet Union extended its impact not only to Eastern Europe but also to China and Korea. Thirdly, there was the collapse of European colonial empires in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which gave rise to many new nation-states in third-world countries. These nascent nation-states were looking to develop their economies and increase their political independence.
According to modernization theory, modern societies are more productive, children are better educated, and those in need are better off. According to Smelser's analysis, modern societies are characterized by a special feature of social structural differentiation, that is, a clear definition of the functions and political roles of national institutions [2]. Smelser claims that although structural differentiation has boosted the functionality of modern organizations, it has also created the problem of integrating and coordinating the activities of different new institutions.
In a political sense, Coleman identifies three main attributes of modern societies [3, p. 2]:
a) differentiation of the political structure;
b) secularization of political culture - with the spirit of equality that
c) increases the capabilities of the political system of society.
The principal prerequisites of the modernization theory of development are: modernization is a step-by-
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step process; for example, Rostow has 5 phases following his theory of economic development for a particular society that I am going to mention later [1, p. 31].
Modernization is a homogenizing process, in this sense, we can state that modernization induces trends towards convergence between societies. For instance, Levy argues that "over time, they and we will become more and more like each other," because modernization models are such that the more modernized societies become, the more they resemble each other" [4, p. 207].
By the end of World War II, numerous countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America were unable to develop and remained impoverished, despite the impact of capitalism. The leaders of Western developed countries, particularly the United States, worried that communism could spread to many of these countries, potentially damaging the interests of American business abroad and decreasing the power of the United States.
In this context, at the end of the 1940s, a theory of modernization was developed, the purpose of which was to find a specifically non-communist solution to the problem of poverty in the developing world. Its purpose was to spread a specifically industrialized, capitalist model of development through the promotion of Western, democratic values. Modernization theory believed that the "third world" should develop as the "first world". There are two main aspects of modernization theory: (1) its explanation of why poor countries are underdeveloped, and (2) its proposed solution to the problem of underdevelopment.
Modernization theory explained the underdevel-opment of Asian, African and Latin American countries primarily in terms of cultural "barriers" to development, mainly stating that developing countries lagged behind because they were constrained by their traditional values, while other modernization theorists focused more on economic barriers to development.
In order to achieve development, less developed countries had to follow the same path of development as the West. They needed to adopt Western cultural values and industrialize to promote economic growth. To accomplish this, they will need the support of Western governments and companies in the form of aid and investment. Modernization theory favoured the capitalist-industrial model of development - they believed that capitalism (free market) promotes efficient production through industrialization, the process of transition to factory production. Modernization theory believed that industrialization could stimulate development in poorer countries.
According to modernization theorists, less developed countries are undeveloped because they have wrong cultural and social systems and wrong values and customs that hinder development.
Talcott Parsons (1964) was especially critical of the traditional values of underdeveloped countries — he believed that they were too attached to traditional customs, rituals, practices and institutions, which, as Parsons claimed, were "enemies of progress." Parsons claimed that traditional values in Africa, Asia and Latin America act as barriers to development, including particularism, collectivism, patriarchy, ascribed status and fatalism [5].
On the contrary, Parsons considered that Western cultural values encourage competition and economic growth: such values include the following: individualism, universalism, achieved status and meritocracy. Parsons believed that people in less developed countries need to develop an "entrepreneurial spirit" to gain economic growth, and this can only happen if less developed countries become more receptive to Western values that promote economic growth [5].
Modernization is a process of Europeanization or Americanization; in the modernization literature, there is a complacent attitude towards Western Europe and the United States. It is believed that these countries have unequalled economic prosperity and democratic stability. In addition, modernization is an irreversible process, once modernization has started, it can no longer be stopped. In other words, as soon as third-world countries come into contact with the West, they will not be able to resist the impulse of modernization.
Modernization is a progressive process that is ultimately not only inevitable but also desirable. According to Coleman, modernized political systems have a greater ability to cope with the function of national identity, legitimacy, penetration, participation and dissemination than traditional political systems [1, p. 32].
Yet, modernization is a long process. This is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary one. It will take generations or even centuries to complete, and its profound impact will only be felt over time. All these assumptions follow European and American evolutionary theories.
Also, it is well known that the economic theory of modernization is based on the five steps of development of the Rostow model. Thus, these five stages are the following [1, p. 31]:
- traditional society,
- a prerequisite for take-off,
- the process of take-off,
- striving for maturity
- and the society of mass consumption.
According to this exposition, Rostow has found a
possible solution to stimulate modernization in third-world countries. If the problem faced by third-world countries is their lack of productive investment, then the solution is to assist these countries in the form of capital, technology and experience. The Marshall Plan and the Alliance for Progress in Latin America are examples of programs inspired by Rostow's political theories.
The strengths of modernization theory can be defined in several aspects. First, we can determine the basis of the research orientation. Even though the main studies of modernization were conducted by a social psychologist, a sociologist of religion and a political sociologist, other authors have extended the theory of modernization to other areas. For example, Bellah explores the role of the Tokugawa religion in the economic development of the pajans in Southeast Asia with an impact on the villages of Cambodia, Laos and Burma; Lipset examines the possible role of economic development in the democratization of third-world countries, and Inkeles discusses the consequences of
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the modernization process for individual attitudes and behaviour [3, p. 3].
The second element of the modernization perspective is the analytical ground. The authors suggest that the third world countries are traditional, and the Western countries are modern. In order to develop, these poor countries must adopt Western values. Third, the methodology is based on general research; for instance, the presentation of cost factors in third-world countries and the distinction between unstable democracies, dictatorships and stable dictatorships.
On the other hand, the modernization theory was prevalent in the 1950s, but in the late 60s, it was highly criticized. Criticism of the theory includes the following [3, p. 4]: first of all, development is not necessarily unidirectional. This is an example of ethnocentrism from Rostow's view. Secondly, the modernization perspective indicates only one possible development model. A favourite example is the development model in the United States. However, in contrast to this circumstance, we can see that other countries, such as Taiwan and South Korea, have made progress in development; and we must admit that their current level of development has been achieved by strong authoritarian regimes.
The second set of criticisms of modernization theory involves the need to eliminate traditional values. Third-world countries do not have a homogeneous set of traditional values; their value systems are extremely heterogeneous. For example, Redfield distinguishes between large traditional values (elite values) and small traditions (mass values) [6]. The second aspect of criticism here is the fact that traditional and modern values do not necessarily exclude each other: for example,
China, despite its success in economic development, continues to act on the basis of traditional values, and it seems that the same situation is in Japan.
Nevertheless, there are also crucial differences between classical studies and new studies of the school of modernization. For instance, in the classical approach, tradition is an obstacle to development; in the new approach, tradition is an additive factor of development. As for the direction of development, the classical perspective uses a unidirectional path that tends to the American and European models, the new perspective prefers a multidirectional path of development. And eventually, with regard to external factors and conflicts, the classics demonstrate a relative disregard for external factors and conflicts, in contrast to the greater attention to external factors and conflicts practised by the new approach.
References:
1. Social Change and Development; Alvin Y.So, Copyright 1990 by Sage Publications, Inc., p. 283; p. 36
2. Smelser, N. J. (1963). Theory of collective behaviour. New York, NY: Free Press.
3. Four Main Theories of Development: Modernization, Dependency, Word-System and Globalization, Giovanni E. Reyes, University of Pittsburgh document, 2001, p.16; p. 2
4. Modernization and the Structure of Societies, 1996, Marion J. Levy Jr., Routledge, p. 508, p. 207
5. The Stages of Economic growth, W.W. Rostow: revisesociology.com
6. Robert Redfield "Pleasant Society and Culture, 1956, 163 pages.
