Development Theory and Impasse - Essay Example

? Development Theory and Impasse Development Theory and Impasse Introduction Like many developing countries in the “Lost Decade”, the sphere of development theory was also affected in 1980s. A concept developed among many thinkers regarding the development theory that it has been extended to an impasse which is known as the Impasse in Development Theory. The development theories at that time were based on metanarratives mainly because of the popularity which was contained by Marxists and neo Marxists. The beginning of impasse in development theory occurred when the capitalist system caused the Western development which was considered to be exploitative by nature (Schuurman, 1993). The development impasse is a significant feature of the world economy and global development. This paper is focused on describing the development theories and the impasse in development theories in a detailed manner. It also aims to evaluate the causes of this impasse in development theories. Development Theory Development theory is an aggregate of multiple theories, which aims to propose methods by which a society can be congealed into a developed and progressed form. The development study deals with the ways by which the desirable changes in the society can deliberately be delivered on a social level. There are many theories, which come under the umbrella term of development theory. Some of these theories are: 1. Dependency Theory 2. Modernization Theory Dependency Theory Dependency theory is a set of multiple theories relating to the scope of social sciences. It aims to describe the reasons for the failure of developing countries to develop on the economic field. Non-industrialized countries are unable to develop economic progression in spite of the help they attain from the industrialized states in the form of investments. Dependency theory proposes that this failure of developing countries occurs because of a flaw which exists in the global economic system. The world economic system contains a highly unequal preference regarding the distribution of power and resources in which the developing countries becomes dependent upon some industrial forces. The industrial forces which are independent controls the global economy which creates inequality in power and resources by which the non industrialized countries becomes unable to progress and match to the global economy in spite of the investments by industrialized countries. This is the main argument of dependency theory for the global development (Munck & O'hearn, 1999). Modernization Theory Modernization theory is a development theory which explicates the process by which the industrialized countries become developed. It aims to describe the process of modernization by which societies became developed and industrialized. It emphasizes on advancements in technology and industrialization in order to actualize the development in society. It also incorporates many political and social changes in a society to become a developed society. One of the social changes is the emphasis on the advancement in the institution of education. It actually describes the process by which the industrialized North American societies and the industrialized societies of Western Europe were developed. It proposes that if a developing country adopts this process of modernization, by which the developed countries were modernized, only then that developing country can be converted into a developed and industrialized society (Munck & O'hearn, 1999). Impasse in Development Theory The impasse in the development theory is largely contributed to the Marxist influence on development sociology. To understand the impasse of development theory, it is important to neutrally attain the core understanding of each theory including dependency theory and Marxist influence on development theory (Booth, 1985). Marxism and Neo Marxism The time period of 1970s and 80s were significantly influenced by Marxist theory and Neo Marxism regarding the development theory. Karl Marx criticized capitalism and pronounced it as an economic system of inequality. In contrast to capitalism, Marx presented the idea of socialism which theoretically seems to be a system with equal distribution of power and resources. This ideology proposed by Marx influenced many scopes of sociology and political science including development theory. Neo Marxism is the post Marxist ideology which contains a significant impact of Marxism. Neo Marxism has multiple theories proposed by several theorists, which are amendments or extensions of Marxist ideology. Marxism and Neo Marxism had an immense influence on the studies of development theory in which the most prominent theory based on Neo Marxism is the Dependency Theory (Munck & O'hearn, 1999). Dependency theory was formulated in response to the modernization theory. It was the time when Northern societies of America and societies of Western Europe were significantly progressing and industrialization had congealed the orthodox system of these societies. Capitalism was completely accepted as a system which can potentially lead to the development. Dependency theory criticized the system of the world economy and this critique was the Marxist critique of capitalism in a modified form. It described that the developing countries are unable to meet the level of the economy which has been set by the industrialized countries due to inequality which exist in the system of capitalism. This inequality is on the basis of distribution of resources and the distribution of power. Dependency theory claims that the developing countries cannot become developed and industrialized even with the investments of developed societies because of the flaw in the global system of economy (Munck & O'hearn, 1999). The Impasse and Causes The impasse in the development theory is marked to be identified in the mid of 1980s. The last two decades from the beginning of impasse, the study of development theory was divided into two groups in which one was the incorporation of modernization theory, and the other was Neo Marxism. In this period of history, Marxist ideology was immensely popular among the academic scope of political science, sociology and development theory. The version of Neo Marxism in the form of dependency theory was dominant over modernization theory and many other development theories. The industrialization in North American Society and West European society after the end of the cold war hatched modernization theory (Schuurman, 1993). Modernization theory started to be formulated in the era of 1950s and 1960s in which the lifestyle of West, technological advancements and innovations in West were diffused into development. An important factor of modernization theory was the consideration of an individual to be a trend setter in every type of social communication. This means that the culture was based on an individual who is considerably successful on the basis of the economy. It was focused on selective individuals as superiority in the secular mindset and they were symbolized as the source of motivation. Modernization theory has a strong influence of capitalism which describes each aspect of society in terms of the economy and capital. Economy is the basic driving force for a society to become developed (Schuurman, 1993). The dependency theory was proposed in reaction to the modernization theory which revolves around capitalism. The dependency theory was based on Marxist critique of the economic system i.e. capitalism. Dependency theory does not propose a process of development for the third world; despite that it identifies flaws existing in the system of the global economy which is based on the modernization theory. It targets the unequal distribution of resources and power. This critique on the global economy is basically the Marxist critique on capitalism. Marx proposed that the economic system of capitalism creates a significant imbalance in society in which the power and resources becomes the possession of few. On the basis of resources, the distribution of power limits in the hands of capitalists who becomes the controlling group of society. This imbalance in the distribution of resources and power creates a large social gap that contributes to the underdevelopment of a particular society. This critique is applied on the system of the world economy in the form of dependency theory, which was congealed on the basis of modernization theory and capitalism (Schuurman, 1993). The popularity of Marxism and Neo Marxism caused the dominance of dependency theory in the sphere of development sociology. However, modernization theory idealizes capitalism and dependency theory idealizes socialism. There lies a prominent gap in between the actuality of world economic development and the proposals of these theories. The Impasse of development theory begins with the dominance of dependency theory in the studies of development sociology. The development of Western societies occurred because of the capitalist system and industrialization. This fact does not concord to the dependency theory. This nonconformance between the dominant dependency theory and western industrialization is one of the prominent factors for the impasse in development theory (Schuurman, 1993). A thinker named David Booth describes the impasse on the basis of Marxist influence in the development sociology. Booth, in his influential article “Marxism and development sociology: Interpreting the impasse” (1985), illuminated several features which contributed to the impasse in the development theory. He focused on the nature of development theories, which are a main cause of this impasse (Booth, 1985). Booth argues that the impasse in the development theory is a general problem which has to be identified by having a broader and more general look over to every development theory. Development theory is in an impasse, not because of flaws which exists in any one theory of development. For instance, the flaw in dependency theories that it does not explicate the reasons for the development of industrialized countries and it contains the gap between theory and its practical implication. Booth proposes that the development theory has reached an impasse because of the gap which exists between each theory and actual reality (Booth, 1985). Booth (1985), in his article, states that modernization theory and its opponent the dependency theory which is an extended version of Marxism are metatheoretical. The modernization theory and dependency theory acquire ideological basis for the problem of development. The development theory including the Marxist ideology is unable to contribute to a viable policy by which the problem of third world regarding development can be settled. These theories are distant from the reality of crisis in the development of non industrialized countries. As being meta-theoretical in nature, these theories contain several immensely critical errors. These are the factors which caused the impasse in the development theory. Another important highlighted by Booth is the emphasis on the necessity of social and economic patterns in the Marxist developmental sociology. Marxist development theory demonstrates the necessity of social and economic patterns in distinction with its explication. This commitment of demonstration is metatheoratical, and it formulates the idea that the processes and structures present in the third world are necessarily to be explained under the system and domain of capitalism (Booth, 1985). The interpretation of the impasse illuminated by Booth focuses on the Marxist development sociology in its major and the larger context. However, Stuart Corbridge (1990) proposed an idea in response to Booth’s illuminated problems in the Marxist development sociology. Corbridge focuses on the post imperialism because of his concordance in ideology with the Marxist development sociology. Corbridge agrees to the idea presented by Booth that Marxism and Neo Marxism presupposes the system of the world as a static compilation of two categories which are, in Marx’s terminology, have ones and have not ones. This static vision of the world system in Marxism and Neo Marxism has a pessimistic orientation of development theory (Corbridge, 1990). Marxism and its most prominent classical form i.e. Neo Marxism contain a severe critique against the economic system of capitalism. However, the development of Western Europe and North America is entirely based on the capitalist system of economy. The modernization theory illuminates capitalistic system as a necessary ingredient for the development of the third world. Booth’s critique on the Marxist and Neo Marxist approaches regarding development theory is valid (Booth, 1985), but Corbridge extends the critique on the contrasting system i.e. capitalism in the form of post imperialism. Corbridge departs from Booth’s ideology in the identification of problems in Marxist development sociology on the point that Booth did not incorporated the post Marxist development sociology which has the potentiality to transcend the current impasse in development theory (Corbridge, 1990). Corbridge further defines impasse to be present in the radical studies of development which cannot be transcended by acquiring and adopting non Marxist development theories. The development theories which are other than Marxism do not have potential to solve the problem of impasse in development theory. Corbridge states that the approach of post Marxism development studies can transcend the impasse in a significant manner (Corbridge, 1990). Another author named Leslie Sklair wrote an article in year 1988 in which he proposed some ways by which the impasse can be transcended. However, Sklair’s idea of impasse in development theory is also in response to Booths article. Sklair describes the problem of impasse in a way that incorporates the interconnectivity of metatheory, theory and empirical research. According to Sklair, if metatheory, theory and empirical research are separated in dealing with the impasse in development theory then this will contribute to another impasse because metatheory, theory and empirical researches are parts of one project i.e. the development theory (Sklair, 1988). The impasse development theory is not because of the disagreements in the metatheories which are dependency theory and modernization theory. The impasse is neither because of the incompatibility between Neo Marxist theories of development and anti Marxist theories of development nor because of the elevation in the amount of theories which proposes the process or flaws in the development theory. The impasse in development theory is because of the confusion in the understanding of metatheory and theory. Metatheory is a set of assumptions which does not incorporates the empirical determine it truth value. Metatheory is a tool to significantly cohere epistemology and the object of knowledge. In order to this, some metatheories which are called non scientific do not involve empirical value. Metatheories are formulated in abstraction from the empirical world whereas theory is the set of proposition which are directly or indirectly extracted from a metatheory. Theory is a tool to compile hypothesis about the real objects existing in the world. The validity of metatheory is based on theory’s empirical testing. If the theory proposes correct hypothesis about the object of knowledge then the metatheory becomes more appreciated and vice versa (Sklair, 1988). The development theory reached impasse because of the proponents of theories provides their theories the status of metatheories. Theories of development are proposed as metatheories which resulted in the impasse. Especially because of the clash between dependency theory and modernization theory which is known as Warren thesis (Sklair, 1988). Sklair proposed a possible way to transcend the impasse in the form a strategy. This strategy works in a sequential manner in which metatheory comes on the initial stage and on the basis of this metatheory, theories are dealt. Afterwards, hypotheses are formulated on the basis of theories which incorporate the empirical evidences to explore the truth value of the formulated hypotheses. This process can potentially transcend the impasse which is present in the development theory (Sklair, 1988). The impasse in development theory has another factor which played a significant role in development sociology. This factor is the postmodern critique on the nature of development theory. The postmodern critique dissolved the standard of development theory and reduced the process of development on actual happenings. This criticism also contributed to the impasse of development theory such as an article written by Douglas Lummis in year 1991 used the postmodern method of deconstruction on the process of development. It neglected the political influence involved in the development theory and provided an alternative political system which congealed the whole stature of development study. This and many other postmodern criticisms contributed to the impasse in development theory (Schuurman, 1993). Conclusion The impasse is development theory is a theoretical impasse which was reached because of a compilation of multiple factors. The impasse in development theory is largely associated with the clash between dependency theory and modernization theory which is known as the Warren thesis. Dependency theory in reaction to the modernization theory contains completely opposite theoretical foundations which created a theoretical gap in the studies of development theory. In addition, the most popular development theory that is the dependency theory was not in concordance with the reality of development, especially in the Western industrialized societies, contributed to this impasse in the development sociology. Another important factor for the impasse is the gap between metatheories, theories and the empirical values. This gap is identified in dependency theory by David Booth and in the non Marxist theories by Stuart Corbridge. However, the detailed explication of this problem of the gap was found in the article written by Leslie Sklair in year 1988. The theories of development studies were treated as metatheories which is the beginning of the impasse. The final contributor of the impasse is the postmodern criticism on the theoretical determination of the process of development. The process of development was identified in the form of theories which was criticized by the postmodern thinkers. These factors were combined in the attainment impasse in the development theory. However, Sklair provides a way to transcend this impasse by the correct understanding of metatheories and theories and their interconnectivity can transcend the impasse of development studies. Corbridge appreciates the post-Marxist approach to transcend this impasse in development theory. List of References Booth, D., 1985. Marxism and development sociology: interpreting the impasse. World Development, 13(7), pp.761-87. Corbridge, S., 1990. Post-Marxism and development studies: Beyond the impasse. World Development, 18(5), pp.623-39. Munck, R. & O'hearn, D., 1999. Critical Development Theory: Contributions to a New Paradigm. New York: Zed Books. Schuurman, F.J., 1993. Beyond the Impasse: New Directions in Development Theory. 2nd ed. New Jersey: Zed Books. Sklair, L., 1988. Transcending the impasse: Metatheory, theory, and empirical research in the sociology of development and underdevelopment. World Development, 16(6), pp.697-709. Read More