MODERNIZATION THEORY
Sociologyindex, Sociology Books 2009
Modernization Theory is a theory of social and economic development, following functionalist or consensus assumptions, that societies need to have harmony among their component parts.
This assumptions leads to the belief that modern economies (capitalist) demand special characteristics in their culture and the structure of social relationships. For example, family systems are assumed to change towards a narrow conjugal form, and away from extended structure, in order to accommodate the individualism and occupational flexibility that is demanded by a modern complex economy undergoing continual transformation.
Mandarins
of the Future: Modernization Theory in Cold War America (New Studies in American
Intellectual and Cultural History) by Nils Gilman
"Mandarins of the Future both helps us understand a past paradigm in its historical
context and offers insights for those seeking to comprehend the social world of
today."-- Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences
Review
"The American engagement with 'modernization' is one of the most important episodes
in the intellectual, political, and diplomatic history of the Cold War epoch, filled with
cautionary tales for our own time. Gilman's sophisticated, clearly-argued, archive-based
interpretation is a commanding contribution to our understanding of the terms on which the
United States interacts with the rest of the world."--David A. Hollinger, University
of California, Berkeley
Because it provided the dominant framework for "development" of poor,
postcolonial countries, modernization theory ranks among the most important constructs of
twentieth-century social science. In Mandarins of the Future: Modernization Theory in Cold
War America Nils Gilman offers the first intellectual history of a movement that has had
far-reaching, and often unintended, consequences.
After a survey of the theory's origins and its role in forming America's postwar sense of
global mission, Gilman offers a close analysis of the people who did the most to promote
it in the United States and the academic institutions they came to dominate. He first
explains how Talcott Parsons at Harvard constructed a social theory that challenged the
prevailing economics-centered understanding of the modernization process, then describes
the work of Edward Shils and Gabriel Almond in helping Parsonsian ideas triumph over other
alternative conceptions of the development process, and finally discusses the role of Walt
Rostow and his colleagues at M.I.T. in promoting modernization theory during the Kennedy
and Johnson administrations. By connecting modernization theory to the welfare state
liberalism programs of the New Deal order, Gilman not only provides a new intellectual
context for America's Third World during the Cold War, but also connects the optimism of
the Great Society to the notion that American power and good intentions could stop the
postcolonial world from embracing communism.
From
Modernization to Globalization: Perspectives on Development and Social Change
(Blackwell Readers in Sociology)
J. Roberts (Editor), Amy Hite (Editor)
Why are some countries poor? What can they do to turn their situations around? What
happens to countries and individuals when they move towards being "modern"? What
does it mean to "develop" and be "modern" anyway? What are the social
effects of the processes of worldwide economic, cultural, and political integration called
globalization? From Modernization to Globalization is a reference for scholars, students
and development practitioners on the issues of processes of social change and development
in the 'Third World'. It provides carefully excerpted samples from both classic and
up-to-date writings in the development literature, as well as, a general introduction.
Part One reviews formative ideas on the transition to modern society with brief readings
from classical theorists. The second part addresses the modernizationists' discussion of
how development changes people. The response from dependency and world-system theorists is
reviewed in Part Three. The final section includes eight of the most influential writings
on the social effects of globalization. Together, this represents an unprecedented
compilation important of writings on international development.
J. Timmons Roberts is Associate Professor in Sociology and Latin American Studies at
Tulane University. His research examines the social and environmental impacts of
globalization.
Modernization
and Postmodernization
by Ronald Inglehart
Review
Inglehart's findings are consistently thought-provoking and often surprising and should
inspire prolonged and productive controversy.
Review
Inglehart's new book analyzes the most encompassing dataset on political values and
orientations ever collected, in order to assess cultural theories of political and
economic change. His well-understood (and subtly reinterpreted) version of modernization
theory will draw throngs of critics, as did Inglehart's previous works. But he provides
clinching evidence for a logic of cultural development that even his toughest critics can
not ignore.
Review
Ronald Inglehart is one of the very few scholars to have remained consistently engaged
with both the study of political culture and the development of modernization theory over
the past few decades. In Modernization and Postmodernization, he presents the cumulative
results of decades of research on the interrelationships among cultural values, democracy,
and capitalism. His findings are consistently thought-provoking and often surprising and
should inspire prolonged and productive controversy. . . . Overall, Inglehart's
fascinating book raises tantalizing questions about the long-term trajectory of value
change in modern society.
Ronald Inglehart argues that economic development, cultural change, and political change
go together in coherent and even, to some extent, predictable patterns. This is a
controversial claim. It implies that some trajectories of socioeconomic change are more
likely than others--and consequently that certain changes are foreseeable. Once a society
has embarked on industrialization, for example, a whole syndrome of related changes, from
mass mobilization to diminishing differences in gender roles, is likely to appear. These
changes in worldviews seem to reflect changes in the economic and political environment,
but they take place with a generational time lag and have considerable autonomy and
momentum of their own. But industrialization is not the end of history. Advanced
industrial society leads to a basic shift in values, de-emphasizing the instrumental
rationality that characterized industrial society. Postmodern values then bring new
societal changes, including democratic political institutions and the decline of state
socialist regimes. To demonstrate the powerful links between belief systems and political
and socioeconomic variables, this book draws on a unique database, the World Values
Surveys. This database covers a broader range than ever before available for looking at
the impact of mass publics on political and social life. It provides information from
societies representing 70 percent of the world's population--from societies with per
capita incomes as low as $300 per year to those with per capita incomes one hundred times
greater and from long-established democracies with market economies to authoritarian
states.
Social
Change and Development : Modernization, Dependency and World-System Theories
(SAGE Library of Social Research) Alvin Y. So
During the past four decades, the field of development has been dominated by three schools
of research. The 1950s saw the modernization school, the 1960s experienced the dependency
school, the 1970s developed the new world-system school, and the 1980s is a convergence of
all three schools. Alvin Y. So examines the dynamic nature of these schools of
development--what each of them represents, their contributions, how they have criticized
each other, how they have defended themselves, and how they were transformed. He reviews a
variety of empirical studies, focusing on the "classical" and the
"new" models, to show how each of the perspectives affects the study of
development. In addition, this book features a unique emphasis on the research
implications of the three perspectives, involving changes in orientation, agenda,
methodology, and findings. Social Change and Development is the first study that compares
the strengths and weaknesses of the three schools of development in a thorough,
comprehensive manner. It will be of great interest to students and professionals in urban
studies, development studies, political science and comparative politics. "Highly
recommended." --Development Update "The book is valuable both to the beginners
as well as the serious student of development ." -Indian Journal of Public
Administration "The book will fill a needed niche, and better than anything
heretofore." --Immanuel Wallerstein, SUNY, Binghamton "[The] book is a
remarkable piece of work and will, I am sure, be of great service to many teachers and
students in a number of fields." --Winston Davis, Southwestern University
"Professor So has provided students of development with an excellent review of three
major theories of development. He skillfully meets his goals of providing a sympathetic
presentation of early expressions of each theory, reviewing major criticisms, and then
presenting recent expressions of each theory that have taken criticisms into account. The
use of extensive reviews of a few studies within each theory provides students with a
clear image of the character of the theory, and more importantly an image of the link
between theoretical development and social research. The book avoids unfair caricature of
theories and research, and provides a solid basis for further study and research on issues
of development." --Robert Fiala, University of New Mexico "The author has
succeeded in objectively delineating each theoretical perspective so that the reader is
not encumbered with attempting to separate academic theory from political ideology. This
is no minor achievement and the author is to be applauded for both his efforts and his
achievement of this task. . . . The book will be fascinating reading for anyone interested
in the historical and contemporary functioning of nation-states and their
interdependency." --Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling "I would like
to pass along my compliments on So's new volume. The writing is exceptionally clear and
the presentations superb." --Marc W. Steinberg, University of Michigan "A useful
analysis of the major development theories. . . . A good text for students and teachers
and the only study to address the research implications of the three development theories
in a comprehensive fashion." --Development Bookshelf "An exceptionally useful
book. . . . So's command of the relevant literature and ability to explain complex
material, as well as his even-handed (even sympathetic) treatments of three quite
different (and often antagonistic) schools, makes this stimulating book useful for a
variety of audiences: scholars interested in problems of Third-World development,
specialists in modern world history, and even advanced undergraduates ready to tackle
problems of theory." --Journal of World History "Alvin So does a thorough job of
presenting three ways to understand development. . . . The writing is clear and the
territory covered is vast. The result is an impressive survey." --Contemporary
Sociology "Alvin So does a thorough job of presenting three ways to understand
development....So provides valuable extended summaries of early and later formulations
within each perspective. The writing is clear and the territory covered is vast. The
result is an impressive survey, with two main audiences: advanced undergraduates and
graduate students interested in a manageable overview of the field, and scholars in other
fields who are interested but prefer not to retrace every step of these long and complex
debates through the original texts....the book is generally balanced which is no small
accomplishment." --Industrial and Labor Relations Review "Fills a gap in the
social science literature in the field of development. . .useful not only for students but
for faculty members teaching different courses in sociology, history, and political
science. It may also be of interest to a wide and diverse non-professional audience
wanting to know more of the past and contemporary research carried out by the three
schools." --International Journal of Comparative Sociology
Modernization
Theory in Cold War