Dependency Theory vs Modernization Theory

Haiti is a prime example of how human needs in one area of the world are interdependent with social conditions elsewhere in the world. Haiti, for most of its history has been overwhelmed with economic

The national population is continuing to increase at a 1.17% growth rate, which appears small, but consider that most developed countries have negative population growth rates. This is caused by two main factors; continuous births in a state that cannot support them, and the deportation of Haitians from the Dominican Republic, who’s population is decreasing. More than that, Haiti still lies in ruins following the 2010 earthquake, which, as previously mentioned, leaves a large percentage of the population without shelter, food, or work. Even worse is that Haiti’s economic status is continually deteriorating, caused by the previous two factors; population growth and geographic destruction. For that matter it is not helping the global economy at all, as a developed country would. Data shows that Haiti is truly the most under-developed country in the Western Hemisphere. This is due to the fact that it “is the most densely populated country in the Western Hemisphere” (Aronson 1), the fact that it is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and has the least income per person, the fact that it does not have nearly enough food, shelter, clothing, water, or work for all of its people. With that, Haiti shows no signs of improvement in the near future, as it has nothing to build up

Haiti is one of the more indigent countries in the world; the country also holds a low economic status. Over time Haiti’s economy grew gradually at around 2.3

Poverty was an economic factor that greatly influenced how the earthquake affected the population. In Haiti, 80% of the population was under the poverty line. ⅔ of Labor force employees relied on agriculture and due to high unemployment levels, many did not have a job and the population owned an average of under $2 a day. During the earthquake, Haiti’s agricultural industries were destroyed, leaving most of the county unemployed and unable to produce its main exports. This further exacerbated the problem of poverty and left the population without resources, food and water.

Many countries in the world have a unique history when it comes to the general health of their economies, governments, and society however not all countries are able to thrive and make advancements as well as others. Haiti has gone through the good, and the very bad. The unfortunate outcome for Haiti has been plagued by poor leadership, civil unrest, and the idea that human trafficking and slavery is still acceptable in today’s society. The main focal points which need to be examined to fully understand what the culture is all about are, the government leadership, the economy as a whole unit, and the contradiction of freedom from their past history.

Poverty in Haiti is mainly due to the slave population brought in by the French for labor during its colonial rule (they accounted for a third of the whole Atlantic slave trade (1)). How is this so? Well, because

However, before diving deeper into Haiti’s current economic plight, it is necessary to first comprehend how economic well-being is derived. Economic well-being is certainly not easily reflected by one measurement, say GDP per

Humanitarians claim that their lack of success in Haiti in a result of Haiti being both a “failed state” and an urban disaster, as well as the fact that there was poor coordination. It seems that the main cause of the poor coordination was that it was difficult to distinguish whether an individual had been affected by the disaster, this made it difficult to make a distinction between humanitarian aid and development. According to Schuller the core difference in the ideology of development and that if humanitarian aid is that the first is "doing for" while the latter is "working with beneficiary communities" (208).

By understanding the development of the Haitian State, one can therefore derive the dynamics of power built into the rising nation. Moreover, James analyzes well the external forces of control on Haiti, which allows a better understanding of the ability of the state to control its own future. Together, these arguments provide excellent examples of the inequalities within Haiti and externally effecting the nation, and the development of these inequalities as an inherent part of the Haitian and world economies. In such arguments, The Black Jacobins supports the assertion that the changes created in the revolution survived only because of the static qualities created after the

The quote by Lawrence E. Harrison, introduced by David Brooks in the New York Times, seems to be blaming the victim in this situation. Lawrence E. Harrison is for the modernization theory, however, not considering the actual factors on why the people in Haiti can’t attain modernization but instead blames their cultural influences. There are several countries in the world that still have a strong hold on their culture and seem to succeed economically, Japan and Singapore being an example. These countries are doing amazing when it comes to their human development, with excellent health care and educational systems, while at the same time inputting culture into their society. Isbister (2006) mentions in his book, Promises not kept, “From an economic

Haiti remains poor with a still fragile education society, poor and expensive health facilities and high unemployment. “Haiti was already the poorest

Apart from the population being one of the reasons for poverty, the 2010 natural disasters have pull Haiti one step back. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed everything that Haiti has/was trying to build the past years. It had destroyed the buildings and the infrastructure the Hispaniola Island had. Thousands of people’s lives were lost in that tragic disaster.

January 12th, 2010 Haiti faced a catastrophic earthquake that shook the whole country apart and had left the country in ruins. The world looked at Haiti as a nation in a desperate situation to revive itself to the country that it was before. But few have realized that Haiti was already in a place of disorder and as an underdeveloped country it has been struggling to succeed as a nation. From the way that Haiti handles itself, it is evident that this nation is not striving enough tobecome a developed country by taking necessary actions to improve the countries resources and itslifestyle. With the political structure being erratic and facing environmental issues like nothaving proper structural buildings, Haiti has been hurt deeply after the earthquake. This showsthat Haiti presents no urgency or immediate action to further improve its global status. Haiti still needs the support of developed countries such as the United States, to aid its way to have consistency in the political, social, and environmental structure of the country. The idea thatdeveloped countries need to show their global responsibility in reconstructing Haiti to pursuesuccess puts the pressure on developed countries to take actions. This is inexcusable as theearthquake is overshadowing Haiti’s problems within the nation, which has not been brought out.

Poverty, corruption, and poor access to education are the most serious disadvantages that Haiti faces. Two-thirds of the country depends on agriculture, consisting of mainly small-scale subsistence farming. This sector is high vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and the country’s widespread deforestation (which have caused periodic flooding). Additionally, Haiti suffers from high inflation, lack of investment,

1. What are the main differences between modernization theory and dependency theory? Does the human development approach represent a radical departure from both?