MODERNIZATION

Introduction
* Modernization is a conceptual framework that articulated a common set of assumptions about
the nature of developed societies and their ability to transform a world perceived as both
materially and culturally deficient.
* Specifically, Modernization theorists posited a sharp distinction between traditional (read
poor) and modern (read Western) societies. They took for granted that economic development,
from traditional to modern, proceeded along a single, straight, unambiguous line.
* Modernisation advocates expected that contact with vital modern societies would accelerate
progress in stagnant traditional societies.
Concept of Modernization
* According to scholars, the process of modernisation sums up the changes that combine to
convert an agricultural or underdeveloped society with a weak state into an industrialised
society with a relatively efficient, active government. The modernisation process embraces
changes that leads to industrialisation and urbanisation.
* According to Wilbert Moore, “modernisation is a ‘total’ transformation of a traditional or pre-
modern society into the types of technology and associated social organisation that
characterizes the advanced, economically prosperous and relatively stable nations of the
Western World”.
* Daniel Lerner defined modernisation as “the process of social change in which development
is the economic component”. Lerner’s premise is that Modernisation is a global process
occurring in a similar manner the world over, and the role of indices of development like mass
media, urbanisation, increase in literacy, etc. are responsible for the emergence of a new
economic order.
Features of Modernization
The main features of modernisation can be summed up as following.
* It emphasises a high degree of structural differentiation and specialisation.
* It is based on a mode of production that has come to be known as the capitalist mode of
production. It is implied from this that social order is constituted around two important classes
- capitalist, which owns the means of production, and the working class, which sells its labour
in this process.
* It is essentially a wage labour economy. It highlights the growth of a References market
economy in which both buyers and sellers are seen as individuals capable of engaging in a
rational choice and operating within a framework of voluntarism.
* It highlights the growth of bureaucratic institutions, which themselves are constructed on
principles of rationality and role differentiation.

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* It emphasises the growth of a political system based on the principle of right as crystallised
within the notion of state and mediated through a set of constitutional principles.
* The powers of the state are absolute and there is a democratic process based on the principle
of political representation and adult franchise.
* This process of democratisation of society has led to the existence of various interest groups
within the political process who represent various competing ideologies.
* Modernisation process also emphasises the growth of individualism, wherein the individual
and individual rights are seen as being at the centre of all social, economic and political
development.
* The modernisation processes also emphasise the idea of social progress and through the
process of democratisation it is possible for societies to achieve higher levels of individual and
social emancipation.
Historical Context
* The modernization school was a historical product of three crucial events in the post-World
War II era.
> First, there was the rise of the United States as a superpower. While other Western nations
(like Great Britain, France, and Germany) were weakened by World War II, the United States
emerged from the war strengthened, and became a world leader with the implementation of the
Marshall Plan to reconstruct war-torn Western Europe.
> Second, there was the spread of a united world communist movement. The Soviet Union
extended its influence not only to Eastern Europe, but also to China and Korea in Asia.
> Third, there was the disintegration of the European colonial empires in Asia, Africa, and Latin
America, giving birth to many new nation-states in the Third World. These nascent nation-
states were in search of a model of development to promote their economy and to enhance their
political independence.
* With generous support from the U-S. government and private foundations, a new generation
of young political scientists, economists, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and
demographers published dissertations and monographs on the previously little-researched
Third World states. An interdisciplinary modernization school was in the making in the 1950s.
In Almond's words, modernization studies were "growth industries" until the mid-1960s.
Theoretical Heritage
* From the very beginning, the modernization school was in search of a theory. It adopted both
an evolutionary theory and a functionalist theory in its effort to illuminate the modernization
of Third World countries. Since the evolutionary theory helped to explain the transition from
traditional to modern society in Western Europe in the nineteenth century, many modernization
researchers thought that it would shed some light on the modernization of Third World
countries.
* Furthermore, since many prominent members of the modernization school - such as Daniel
Lerner, Marion Levy, Neil Smelter, Samuel Eisenstadt, and Gabriel Almond - were schooled

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in the functionalist theory, their modernization studies are inevitably stamped with the
functionalist trademark as well.
Evolutionary Theory
* Evolutionary theory was born in the early nineteenth century in the aftermath of the Industrial
Revolution and the French Revolution.
* The classical evolutionary theory had the following features.
1. First, it assumed that social change is unidirectional; that is, human society invariably
moves along one direction from a primitive to an advanced state, thus the fate of human
evolution is predetermined.
2. Second, it imposed a value judgment on the evolutionary process - the movement
toward the final phase is good because it represents progress, humanity, and civilization.
3. Third, it assumed that the rate of social change is slow, gradual, and piecemeal -
evolutionary not revolutionary. The evolution from a simple, primitive society to a
complex, modern society will take centuries to complete.
Functionalist Theory
* The functionalist theory of Talcott Parsons influenced the modernization theory through its
concepts such as system, functional imperative, homeostatic equilibrium, and pattern variable.
* Parsons was originally trained as a biologist, and his early training greatly influenced his
formulation of a functionalist theory. For Parsons, human society is like a biological organism
and can be studied as such.
(1) First of all, the different parts of a biological organism can be said to correspond to the
different institutions that make up a society. Just as the parts that make up a biological organism
are interrelated and interdependent in their interaction with one another, so the institutions in a
society are closely related to one another. Parsons uses the concept of "system" to denote the
harmonious coordination among institutions.
(2) Second, just as each part of a biological organism performs a specific function for the good
of the whole, so each institution performs a certain function for the stability and growth of the
society. Parsons formulates the concept of “functional imperatives”, arguing that there are four
crucial functions that every society must perform, otherwise the society will die:
a. adaptation to the environment
b. goal attainment
c. integration
d. latency
(3) Third, the organism analogy also led Parsons to formulate the concept of "homeostatic
equilibrium." A biological organism is always in a uniform state. If one of the parts changes,
then the other parts will change accordingly in order to restore equilibrium and reduce tension.
(4) Parsons has formulated the concept of "pattern variables" to distinguish traditional societies
from modern societies. Pattern variables are the key social relations that are enduring,
recurring, and embedded in the cultural system.

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 a. affective versus affective-neutral relationship
b. particularistic versus universalistic relationship
c. collective orientation versus self-orientation
d. ascription versus achievement
e. functionally diffused versus functionally specific relationships
Perspectives on Modernization
From the sociological point of view, the process of modernisation has yielded a vast amount of
writing. There is no unified perspective on modernisation.
The Sociological Approach: Marion Levy’s Relatively Modernized Societies
* For Levy modernization is defined by the extent to which tools and inanimate sources of
power are utilized. Levy distinguishes relatively modernized societies and relatively non-
modernized societies as two locations at the opposite ends of a continuum. He further argues
that all relatively non-modernized societies have more in common with each other, as regards
social structure than with any relatively modernized societies.
* For him, modernization occurs due to contact between relatively modernized societies and
relatively non-modernized societies. Levy treats modernization as a universal social factor.
* According to Levy, relatively non-modernized societies are characterized by the following'
low degree of specialization; high level of self-sufficiency; cultural norms of tradition,
particularism, and functional diffuseness; relatively little emphasis on money circulation and
market; family norms such as nepotism; and one-way flow of goods and services from rural to
urban areas. In contrast, the characteristics of relatively modernized societies include the
following: high degree of specialization and interdependency of organizations; cultural norms
of rationality, universalism, and functional specificity; high degree of centralization, relatively
great emphasis on money circulation and market, the need to insulate bureaucracy from other
contexts; and two-way flow of goods and services between towns and villages.
* Levy points out that there are both advantages and disadvantages for these countries. On the
one hand, they possess the advantages of knowing where they are going; of being able to
borrow initial expertise in planning, capital accumulation, skills, and patterns of organization
without the cost of invention; and of skipping some of the nonessential stages associated with
the process. On the other hand, the latecomers face problems of scale (that they must do certain
things from the very outset on a fairly large scale); problems of conversion of resources,
materials, skills, and problems of disappointment.
The Sociological Approach: Neil Joseph Smelser’s Structural Differentiation
* Inspired by the work of Talcott Parsons, Smelser elucidated that the modernisation process
was made up of four sub-processes:
1. The modernisation of technology, leading to a change from simple traditionalised
techniques to the application of scientific knowledge;
2. The commercialisation of agriculture, which is characterised by the move from
subsistence to commercial farming, leading to a specialisation in cash-crop production
and the development of wage-labour;

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 3. Industrialisation, which depicts the transition from the use of human and animal power
to machine power;
4. Urbanisation, which brings about the movement from farm and village to the large
urban centres.
* These processes sometimes occur simultaneously and sometimes at different times.
Nevertheless, these four processes affect the social structure of traditional society in similar
ways.
1. Firstly, as a result of these changes taking place simultaneously or at different rates,
traditional societies became more structurally differentiated. For Smelser, a developed
economy and society is characterised by a highly differentiated structure, whilst an
underdeveloped one is relatively lacking in differentiation.
2. Secondly, as these differentiated units merge into larger units of the modern type, new
relationships, which are not based on kinship, develop. This, Smelser calls, the process
of integration.
3. Thirdly, Smelser shows that through such differentiation, social disturbances, such as
mass hysteria, outbursts of violence, religious and political movements may occur,
which reflect uneven processes of change. This can lead to conflict between the old and
new orders of society.
The Economic Approach: Walt Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth
* Walt Rostow was an economic historian who served as an adviser to the References American
government. His book, entitled The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto
(1960) was pre-capitalist and neo-evolutionary in nature and derived from the idea of an earlier
evolutionary theory that change and development take place according to a set of ordered
sequences.
* According to Rostow, the processes of change are simpler and self-sustaining. Economic
growth could be achieved by following a five-stage model of growth. He suggested that “all
societies can be placed in one of five categories, or stages of economic growth”.
> The first stage; The Traditional Society: The essential feature of this society is that output is
limited because of the inaccessibility of science and technology. Values are generally
“fatalistic”, and political power is non-centralised. Large number of people are employed in
agriculture, which has very low productivity because of the factors mentioned above. In such
a society, family and clan groupings are emphasized in the social organisation.
> The second stage; The Preconditions for Take-Off: This second stage of growth is one of
transition. A traditional society does not move directly into the process of industrialisation.
There are clusters of new ideas favouring economic progress arising and therefore new levels
of education, entrepreneurship, and institutions capable of mobilising capital like banks, etc.
But, in accordance with Rostow, traditional social structures and production techniques remain
the same.
> The third stage; The Take-Off: In this stage finally the old, traditional order and resistances
are overcome. New forces, which trigger economic growth, expand and dominate the society.
Agriculture is commercialised. New political groups representing new economic groups push
the industrial economy to new heights.

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> The fourth stage; The Drive to Maturity: In this stage, the growing economy drives to extend
modern technology in all its economic activities. Technology becomes more complex, refined
and there is a move away from heavy industry. Now production is not the outcome of social
necessity but of the need of maximising profits to survive in a competitive capitalist market.
> The fifth stage; Mass Consumption: In this final stage, the leading economic sectors
specialise in durable consumer goods and services. At this stage, economic growth makes sure
that basic needs are satisfied and more resources are allocated for social welfare and social
security.
The Diffusionist Perspective
* This approach views development as a process in which there is a diffusion of cultural
elements from the developed to the underdeveloped countries. The underlying assumption is
that the underdeveloped countries cannot overcome their backwardness without assistance
from the developed countries.
* There is diffusion of capital, technology, knowledge, skills and institutions including values.
This perspective perceives this aid as a sacrifice on the part of the developed countries for the
benefit of the backward and suffering underdeveloped countries.
* If still a society does not reach the level of modernity and development as projected by them,
then it is blamed on the inherent weaknesses present in the underdeveloped-backward societies,
like demographic factors, presence of traditional institutions, beliefs, values, etc.
The Psychological Perspective
* This approach is mainly associated with McClelland, Kunkel, Hagen and others. According
to McClelland, a society with a high level of achievement will produce energetic entrepreneurs
who, in turn, will produce more rapid economic development.
> This is because a high level of achievement among people makes them behave in ways which
help them fulfil their entrepreneurial roles successfully.
> Therefore, the crucial factor for economic and cultural development, according to this
approach, is the presence of motivation of ‘achievement’ among members. This leads to
planned and concentrated growth and development.
Critical Evaluation
* In analysing the assets of the modernisation theories, it should be understood that this school
of thought emerged in the early years of the 1950s, and began to disappear in the 1970s when
belief in it started to wane.
* The main quality of the modernisation theory is its simplicity - the objective is already visible
in the image of the West, and the path to follow is laid out by the history of Western evolution.
All that remains is for the traditional society to recognise what is needed. Having already
achieved their goal, the modern societies can assist in the evolution of the traditional society
by reference to their own history.
* The straightforward approach of advancing a society by way of itself evolving internally is,
though easy to grasp and as such having strong exterior appeal, far too basic to incorporate into

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the world system we see today. The very fact that there are modernised societies to “look up
to” entails that a communication and possible co-operation between North and South already
exists, and that there are therefore links and ties already in place is far from reality.
* Another criticism put forth is that while the developing countries struggle to update its social,
political, and economic structures to those of the developed countries, it is extremely likely that
the modernised country will continue to grow at the same or possibly faster rate that the
developing country will find it difficult to catch up.
* It is also argued that since the modernisation theory is typically a Western phenomenon, its
roots obviously must lie around capitalist society - the developing world is to be a mirror image
of the civilised world which generally embraces capitalism.
* Rostow has been criticised by many on the basis of the teleological approach. In Rostow’s
model, policies are the result of development and not vice versa, and this is unacceptable to
many, as policies of a state should be chosen and not just merely adopted. It is felt by many
scholars that the characteristics of stages identified by Rostow might overlap or spill into the
other stages.
* The most well-known reaction to theories of modernisation is that of its antithesis, the Theory
of Dependency. The dependency theory takes a far more global view and postulates that the
difficulties in development are not due solely to the internal workings of the country or region
in question, but have more to do with the global structures imposed by the developed onto the
less developed ones.
* Finally, it has been pointed out that modernisation theory itself has produced nothing truly
visible yet. Modernisation theory does not paint a very precise picture of what should be
happening, and more particularly, how it should be occurring.