Poverty and Development Into the 21st Century

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The world is a currently a global village implying that the actions of individuals in the west have direct impacts to people in the developing and underdeveloped regions. The global village is characterized by consumerism, which means that people make use of products based on the media adverts without considering their health and economic statuses.

Reforms are taking place at unprecedented rate, as everyone is obsessed with the issue democracy, participative governance, and human rights. The choices of citizens in the west influence the consumer, as well as political behaviors of the consumers and voters in the developing regions.

Just after independence theory of development, referred to as modernization theory, was developed, which presented a clear path through which developing countries could achieve their objectives. Development was perceived in terms of economic growth. In this regard, it was believed that creation of industries was the sure way of catching up with the developed world, such as the United States, Britain, and France.

The society was expected to adopt ideas that were closely related to those of the west, particularly in terms of designing institutions. The adoption of western culture, such as opening up the economy for foreign investment, was considered modernization.

Gibson-Graham observes that the global economy is intentional, as it aims at capturing the attention of individuals and forcing them to do according to certain standards (Gibson-Graham 107). A number of western economists suggest that the government should never try to interfere with the market, but instead economic matters should be allowed to operate based on the market forces (Murphy 9).

Moreover, such scholars observe that any state has to engage in political reforms, such as shifting from traditional power to modern power whereby the will of the majority is represented through parliament. States are encouraged to formulate bureaucracies, as well as other state machineries, which would preside over the affairs of society.

Development should follow a certain path, contrary to some claims that a development is a result of change, which is mainly constant in any given society. Modernization theories, such as liberalism, suggest that change should be dynamic whereby actors are expected to initiate them by simply following the successful model.

Since Europe and North America were already developed, it is upon the developing countries to emulate the models and techniques that were applied in these developed regions. In Europe, economic development took place following radical measures that brought about industrialization. Therefore, developing countries have no better option other than adopting the model applied in already industrialized countries.

Arjun Appadurai engaged in extensive research to establish the role of culture in development and alleviating poverty (Appadurai 17). Critical review of modernization theory suggests that it is not homogenous since its supporters disagree over some fundamental issues. The modernization theories focus mostly on deficiencies in the developing countries. They suggest some of the ways that can help the poor countries spark development.

The culture of the traditional society is viewed as stagnant, unchanging, non-innovative, and unprofitable. Such societies will never achieve their interests that are related to development and growth. Before the advent of industrialization, a number of people in the world lived in extreme conditions meaning that poverty was prevalent mainly because of their defective culture.

Even though there were few scientific discoveries in areas such as China, India, and the Middle East, the western culture are views do not appreciate such discoveries. The west hold the view that only states in Europe and North America invented economic models and applied them successfully.

The main reason behind development was capitalism, which is related to private ownership of property, liberalized economy, and free movement of capital. Through capitalism, the society was able to acquire adequate technology, which sustained economic development in the west. Capitalism allowed competition, which meant that investors had to be creative and innovative to remain relevant in the market.

The costs of important services, such as communication came down while the prices of products reduced greatly. Investors were forced to reinvest, given the fact that profits attained were minimal. Since re-investing was encouraged, there was perpetual accretion of capital, as well as growth, which encouraged development automatically. There was need for political development since the economy was expanded.

Appadurai notes that a new political and economic culture was introduced in the west following the advent of capitalism and the same culture has to be applied in the developing culture if any economic and political development is to be achieved (Appadurai 21).

On his part, John Harris tends to suggest that economic development and rapid growth rate challenged the power of the feudal lords that forced them to give up (24). This gave rise to the creation of the representative government, which guaranteed individual freedoms, the creation of political parties, periodic elections, the respect of law, and egalitarianism (Harris 27).

The third world does not have the chance of going through this form of transformation because it is under neocolonialism. In other words, it is left behind hence explaining the underdevelopment state of the third world.

Therefore, the third world should put in place measures that would encourage economic and political development. In other words, it should follow the footsteps of the developed world, which is far much ahead in terms of economic development.

Works Cited

Appadurai, Arjun. The capacity to aspire: Culture and the terms of recognition. Culture and Public Action. Ed. Rao Vijayendra and Michael Walton. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004. 58-84. Print.

Gibson-Graham, John. A Postcapitalist Politics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2006. Print.

Harris, John. The Second Great Transformation, Capitalism at the end of the twentieth century Poverty and Development into the 21st Century. Ed. Tim Allen and Thomas Alan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 12-41. Print.

Murphy, Michelle. The Girl: Mergers of Feminism and Finance in Neoliberal Times. The Scholar & Feminism Online, 11.1 (2013): 1-15.

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Poverty and Development Into the 21st Century

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