Revision: Country Classifications and World Essay

Submitted By Letthisbedone
Words: 1753
Pages: 8

Modernisation
Third world are a lower state of civilisation
Capitalist
Aid is given with conditions of western values
First world - Higher rates of production - they are superior to less developed, these aspire to become like the the MEDC
Cold War & Marshall plan after the WW2
Ideological assumptions of capitalist and colonial ideology
ROSTOW - 5 stages
Traditional society - agricultural, low levels of technology
Pre-conditions for take off - reorganisation of agriculture, building infrastructures, accumulation surplus capital.
Take-off - technological developments in leading sectors, capital investment
Maturity - diversification of industry, increasing investment
Developed society - high consumption and growth of service sector
Problems:
Transposes experience of US to the rest of the world
Overemphasises economic factors and ignores political, moral and social forces
Ignores historical context of underdeveloped countries, who, unlike US, do have more developed economies to take account of
Sees any alternative roads to development as pathological - that is leading to destruction
Ignores trading arrangements of modern world which act against development

Theory explanation: third world poverty
TOO MANY PEOPLE - undeveloped societies' populations are increasing too fast so that funds for development are diverted into survival. Need for birth control programmes to limit growth e.g. China. (Ignores the fact that most consumption of resources carried out in the west not in third world)
NOT ENOUGH CAPITAL - undeveloped societies do not produce enough surplus capital to fund their own development. Need investment by west to generate critical mass to take-off. Lack of technology, skills and traditional values (Says the poor is poor because it is poor)
TOO FEW ENTREPRENEURS - people in undeveloped countries lack sufficient enterprise to create sectors of development. Need to have a psychological boost of 'need-achievement' to take off. (West 'laziness' is blamed on the third world, so do not take into consideration the hard work of them)

CRITICISMS
Ignores 'slave trade' history of imperialism, which shaped the third world
Assumes that the third world can copy the experience of the west.
Distorts the wests own history of development.
'Traditional' features of third world are seen as natural, ignores how colonisers affect.
Eurocentric, racist.
Ethnocentric - judges others by western values
All third world countries are lumped together into the same categories as undeveloped

Dependency theory
Underdeveloped societies are kept underdeveloped by the western world
Focuses on the unequal relationship
FRANK - COLONIALISM - when western took over the globe.
Still being exploited
Satellites - underdeveloped
Metropolis - developed
NEO-COLONIALISM - world trade, TNCs exploitation, aid. Keep countries under developed
Satellites
Metropolis
Cheap labour
Fertile land
Cheap primary products

Land is used for cash crops
Metropolis country get richer while the satellite country get poorer.
SATELLITES:
Low wages
Not allowed independent labour unions.
No social movements
Trading relations are in favour of the first world
Capital (profit) is moved from the third world to the first world giving them the satellite status
POTTER -
Countries policies are dictated by metropolis country
The country was ruled for so long there is no experience of democracy for the third world
Skilled workers in third world, not native, so when western powers left so did the skilled workforce
Colonialism tries to leave behind the idea that there is western invincibility
What does a LEDC need to develop?
Keep out foreign capital
Isolate and become self sufficient using countries own resources
Break away when the metropolis is weak
Avoid capitalism

Stages of imperialism:
EARLY COLONIALISM - imperialists took what they wanted by force and sent it back to the metropolis
SETTLED COLONIALISM -