Theorists' Interpretation of Global Inequality - Essay Example

Inequality Inequality Introduction Several theorists have proposed their own reason of rising inequality between nations and individuals. Two different schools of thoughts including the modernists and the dependency theorists have even proposed their own reasons for increasing inequality. According to the modernists, all nations develop in the same manner, they pass through similar stages of development, and they further state that nations that are considered as underdeveloped are developing by passing through the stages of development through which the developed nations have passed and will soon achieve the label of developed nation. Dependency theorists reject the proposition of modernists and state that inequality exists because the underdeveloped areas are being exploited by the developed regions as the developed regions obtain resources for producing goods and services from developing nations and are using these resources to grow further. This writing will pay emphasis to the reasons provided by dependency theorists and modernists regarding the issue of inequality and this writing will further highlight the strengths and weaknesses of both these theories. Dependency theory has taken more of a realistic view of why inequality exists and thus is superior to modernist theory in defining the reasons for the existence of inequality among nations. Body Dependency theorists assert that poverty experienced throughout the globe is a result of the fact that the rich nations are exploiting poor nations (GIDDENS, 2009, p.551). They believe that the rich countries are greedy and want more wealth and this is resulting in negatively affecting the nations that are already poor. They reject the assertion of the modernist theory who states that growth of a nation’s economy is important for the wellbeing of the individuals living in that nation. Dependency theorists state that the poor nations are dependent upon the rich nations for money and the rich nations provide money in the shape of foreign capital by purchasing raw materials from the poor nations. The dependency theorists have regarded this as structural dependency. They further state that due to structural dependency, the poor nations are never going to be able to pursue development that is humanistic and economic in nature. They assert that this is the reason due to which nations that are developing such as India and Pakistan will never be able to obtain the growth level that has been achieved and sustained by developed nations. Dependency theorists are correct in asserting that developed nations further develop by exploiting the resources of developing nations. This can be seen as the developing nations are providing developed nations with labour that is inexpensive, natural resources, dumping grounds for the obsolete assets of the developed nations and markets for selling goods and services produced by the developed nations (RITZER, 2010, p.72). All these resources and markets have resulted in further development of the development nations and the people in developed nations are enjoying on the expanse of developing nations. Developing nations cannot escape the trap set by developed nations as developed nations are constantly perpetuating dependence through several methods. They are doing so with the assistance of media, policies, politics and education. Even if the developing nations try to change their status of being developing to achieve the status of developed nations, they are dragged down by the developed nations as developed nations apply sanctions on them or they do so with the assistance of military. Supporters of dependency theory even state that a nation is not experiencing poverty because they have failed to integrate in the system of the world, but are experiencing poverty due to the way they have been made part of the system. Supporters state that developing nations are in a disadvantageous position as they depend for work on developing nations and are not developing in n independent manner. Those criticizing the dependency theory state that dependency theorists are wrong in asserting that developing nations are dependent on developed nations for work. Critics state that those who own small businesses and industries are not dependant on the needs of the developed nations; they rather develop creative goods and products to serve their own nation’s needs (MACIONIS, 2008, p.289). Critics even state that since the period of 1950, the world wealth has elevated by five times and this increase in wealth has not only been experienced by developed nations, wealth of the developing nations has also increased (MACIONIS, 2008, p.289). Critics even state that dependency theorists are wrong in asserting the dependency of developing nations on developed nations is the sole reason of poverty among developing nations. This is because there are several developing nations such as Ethiopia, which has very low-level dependency on developed nations, and are still the poorest of the countries. Criticizers even state that dependency theorists are pointing fingers at outside forces for the poor conditions of the developing nations, although there can be several internal conditions that have led to the poverty of developing nations. Modernization theory of inequality has been developed in separate stages. Modernization theory of inequality states that people of a society or a nation has the power to develop ion their own. The theory further states that changes in morals values that are cultural in nature can be experienced through changes in technology and economy. Modernization theorists have asserted that a nation can experience development if it accepts industrialization and those nations that have a negative opinion towards industrialization fail to develop and remain undeveloped. The modernization theory blames the individuals within a society or nation for being underdeveloped and state that development is restricted by the negative attitudes of the people of a society. Modernization theorists follow the Linear Stages of Growth Development Model, which states that investments from the private sector and state intervention can help a nation in adapting industrialization and thus developing countries will experience development. Modernists such as Rostow provided various stages of growth through which under developed nations can develop. Rostow stated that a nation has to pass through five developmental stages, which starts from Traditional Society and ends at period of high consumption. After passing through these five stages, a nation obtains the status of a developed nation (GIDDENS, 2009, p.549). The strengths of the modernization theory of inequality are that it believes that any nation can become developed by following the stages of development (POTTER, 1999, p.99). The theorists of modernization theory state that poor countries remain poor because of the nation’s own characteristics. They believe that individuals living in poor nations do not have sufficient amount of capital to participate in agricultural and industrial activities that take place in Western nations. These nations remain behind in developing business as they lack business techniques employed by Western nations. Due to this, poor nations are not able to produce and earn as much profit equal to the production and profit levels of developed nations. Developing nation even does not have the mentality of developed nations, which promotes creativity, achievement orientation, high education and control in producing children. They even believe that if the rich countries help the poor ones, the poor ones can even flourish. They can assist them by transferring their culture to developing nations and can help them by providing investment. Further assistance in the form of government level aid can even assist developing nations in changing their mind set. The businesses in the Western nations can even help in the development process of developing nations by investing in them and providing jobs to the individuals living in poor nations. There are several weaknesses associated with the modernization theory, first it fails to accept the fact that developed nations are not assisting developing nations in their development process, they are rather exploiting their resources and labour for their own advantage (MACIONIS, 2008, p.314). Secondly, developed nations are not in favour of the development of developing nations and are trying to block their development through policies and sanctions. For example: US levied sanctions on Iraq and Iraq has not been able to sell its resources internationally. Thirdly, the modernization theory is not viewing the rich and the poor nations as integrated into one system, is rather viewing them separately, and has completely ignored the effect on various nations of the relationship between different nations. Fourthly, the modernization theory states that all nations pass through the same stages of development and can develop in an independent manner. This is not true since those nations that are developed today, such as the European nations did not dependant on the help provided by developed nations and instead developed by exploiting the weaker nations. Conclusion Dependency theory of inequality states that inequality exists because developed nations are exploiting developing nations and are growing further at the expanse of the developing nations; modernization theory states that any nation can attain the status of developed nation if it passes through the stages of development. Dependency theory undoubtedly presents a realistic view of inequality as it has been witnessed for several years. They are true in believing that developed nations obtain raw materials and labour resources from developing nations and enjoy further development and they are an obstacle in the development of developing nations as they impose sanctions on those nations that try to develop. References GIDDENS, A. (2009). Sociology, sixth edition. Cambridge, Polity. MACIONIS, J. J., & PLUMMER, K. (2008). Sociology: a global introduction. Harlow, England, Pearson Prentice Hall. POTTER, R. B. (1999). Geographies of development. Harlow, Longman. RITZER, G. (2010). Globalization: the essentials. Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell. Read More