1. How does Modernization Theory explain how low-income countries improve their globale economicstanding?

ENGR.ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
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1. How does Modernization Theory explain how low-income countries improve their globale economicstanding?

2. Explain the last sentence of the last paragraph ‘the challenge, then, is to allow the benefits of modernization while maintaining a cultural sensitivity to what already exists.’

Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification
As with any social issue, global or otherwise, scholars have developed a variety of theories to
study global stratification. The two most widely applied perspectives are modernization theory
and dependency theory.
Modernization Theory
According to modernization theory, low-income countries are affected by their lack of
industrialization and can improve their global economic standing through (Armer and Katsillis
2010):
1. an adjustment of cultural values and attitudes to work
2. industrialization and other forms of economic growth
Critics point out the inherent ethnocentric bias of this theory. It supposes all countries have the
same resources and are capable of following the same path. In addition, it assumes that the goal
of all countries is to be as "developed" as possible. There is no room within this theory for the
possibility that industrialization and technology are not the best goals.
There is, of course, some basis for this assumption. Data show that core nations tend to have
lower maternal and child mortality rates, longer life spans, and less absolute poverty. It is also
true that in the poorest countries, millions of people die from the lack of clean drinking water and
sanitation facilities, which are benefits most of us take for granted. At the same time, the issue is
more complex than the numbers might suggest. Cultural equality, history, community, and local
traditions are all at risk as modernization pushes into peripheral countries. The challenge, then, is
to allow the benefits of modernization while maintaining a cultural sensitivity to what already
exists.
Transcribed Image Text:Theoretical Perspectives on Global Stratification As with any social issue, global or otherwise, scholars have developed a variety of theories to study global stratification. The two most widely applied perspectives are modernization theory and dependency theory. Modernization Theory According to modernization theory, low-income countries are affected by their lack of industrialization and can improve their global economic standing through (Armer and Katsillis 2010): 1. an adjustment of cultural values and attitudes to work 2. industrialization and other forms of economic growth Critics point out the inherent ethnocentric bias of this theory. It supposes all countries have the same resources and are capable of following the same path. In addition, it assumes that the goal of all countries is to be as "developed" as possible. There is no room within this theory for the possibility that industrialization and technology are not the best goals. There is, of course, some basis for this assumption. Data show that core nations tend to have lower maternal and child mortality rates, longer life spans, and less absolute poverty. It is also true that in the poorest countries, millions of people die from the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, which are benefits most of us take for granted. At the same time, the issue is more complex than the numbers might suggest. Cultural equality, history, community, and local traditions are all at risk as modernization pushes into peripheral countries. The challenge, then, is to allow the benefits of modernization while maintaining a cultural sensitivity to what already exists.
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