Modernization and World System Theory I Modernization and World System Theory Modernization theories are mostly interested in explaining how a single society changes and develops as it acquired modern technologies World System theory is interested in explaining how global inequalities arise as the result of the spread of capitalist production technologies A Modernization Theory 7 Important Changes Linked to Modern Industrial Technology 1 Agriculture to Industrial Production 2 Rural to Urban Living 3 Increases in Knowledge 4 Increased Wealth 5 Demographic Transition 6 Greater Economic Complexity 7 Increased Cultural Diversity 5 Stages of Development Rostow 1960 1 Traditional Stage No understanding of science limited production quality of life largely determined by natural forces Transitional Stage Pre conditions Acquisition of science and shift away from mysticism expand knowledge and education to non nobles Take off Stage Period of great economic growth and expansion of modern population due to increase use of modern technologies in both industrial and agricultural production Temporary but extreme form of inequality People gain access to resources they did not have before Drive to Maturity A period of economic growth and economic declines in which the investment of wealth begins to disseminate both locally and globally Growing middle class and growth of consumer base Invest in the people High Mass Consumption A period of economic stability where most of a society benefits from modern technologies through the perpetual mass consumption of goods and services B World System Theory 2 Critiques of Modernization Theory Heavily biased toward the Western experience of development not universally applicable Development does not follow set stage not all societies will follow the same basic path Ignores the larger global environment and assumes development is largely driven by within nation processes C The Emergence of the World Economy World Empires A world system approx 0 AD 1400 AD characterized by the military conquests of dominant nations over weaker nations in which the extraction of resources is used to support political elites World Economy A world system 1400 AD present that is characterized by an economic rather than militaristic hierarchy based on capitalist production 4 Characteristics of a World Economy 1 Multiple elite states with relatively equal military power the core 2 Fierce competition both military and economic 3 A set of peripheral states who supply the core with cheap labor and raw materials in uneven trade relations 3 4 A semiperiphery that largely mediates the flow of capital and resources between the core and the periphery D A World Class Structure Core Nations that are great military and economic powers that dominate capitalist production around the world directly and indirectly Examples include the US Japan Great Britain and The Soviet Union Semi periphery Nations that are weaker than the core but have an elite class that plays and active role in global capitalist production Such areas are mainly used for their cheap labor rather than their natural resources Examples include China and Brazil Periphery Nations that are weak and unstable militarily and politically and are undeveloped and greatly lagging in terms of modern technology Such nations are exploited by the core for their raw materials and cheap labor Examples include Congo Afghanistan and Cambodia 4