Modernization Theory Of Industrialization And Development

Modernization theory can be viewed as a description and explanation of the routes of transformation from underdeveloped societies to modern societies. It is the process of change towards those types of social, economic, and political systems such as those that have developed in Western Europe and North America from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth and have then spread to some European countries and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the South American countries, Asian countries and in some African countries. The theory of modernization has been argued to be one of the major perspectives in the sociology of national development and underdevelopment since the 1950s. Main attention has focused mostly on the ways in which past

Industrialization are the main ingredients in the processes of economic growth. So, Modernization theorists basically study the social, political, and cultural consequences of economic growth and the conditions that are important for industrialization and economic growth to take place. It is worth noting that modernization does not necessarily refer simply to becoming current or up to date but to specific processes of societal changes in the course of national development. It is also important to note that though modernization, industrialization and development are mostly used interchangeably however they actually refer to different situations. Modernization is a much broader term than industrialization, whereas development can be argued to be a more general term. Industrialization generally involves the use of power to mechanize production and it also involves growth in manufacturing, wage labour, levels of income and occupational variation. Industrialization on the other hand may or may not be present in situations where there is political, social and cultural modernization and conversely, it may exist in the absence of other aspects of modernization. Similar to industrialization, development indicates economic growth, however not through transformation from the pre-dominance of primary production to manufacturing and

Kinship ties are weaker, and nuclear conjugal family systems prevail. Birth-rates and death rates are lower, and life expectancy is relatively longer. Politically, the society would becomes more participatory in decision-making processes, and typical institutions include universal suffrage, political parties, a civil service bureaucracy, and parliaments. Traditional sources of authority are weaker as bureaucratic institutions assume responsibility and power. More importantly, economically, there is more industrialization, technical upgrading of production, replacement of exchange economies with extensive money markets, increased division of labour, growth of infrastructure and commercial facilities, and the development of large-scale markets. Associated with these structural changes are cultural changes in role relations and personality variables. Social relations are more bureaucratic, social mobility increases, and status relations are based less on such inscriptive criteria as age, gender, or ethnicity and more on meritocratic criteria. There is a shift from relations based on tradition and loyalty to those based on rational exchange, competence, and other universally applied criteria. People are more receptive to change, more interested in the future, more