College of Arts and Sciences

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Master in Public Management and Development

Modernization
Theory
Modernization Theory

-is a theory used to explain the process of Modernization within

societies. The theory looks at the internal factors of a country
while assuming that, with assistance, "traditional" countries
can be brought to development in the same manner more
developed countries have.

-It attempts to identify the social variables which contribute to

social progress and development of societies, and seeks to
explain the process of social evolution.

-It also looks at internal dynamics while referring to social and

cultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies
Modernization Theory

TRADITIONAL
SOCIETY MODERN
INTERNAL
FACTORS SOCIETY

TECHNOLOGY GLOBALIZATION
 The Theory: Emile Durkheim

MODERN
Émile Durkheim (1858-1917), SOCIETY
French social theorist, who was
one of the pioneers in the TRADITIONAL
development of modern sociology. / SEGMENTAL
He utilized scientific methods to
approach the study of society and SOCIETY
social groups. Durkheim believed
that individuals are products of
complex social forces and cannot
be considered outside of the
context of the society in which
they live. He used the conception
of the collective conscience to
describe the condition of a
particular society.
Traditional Society
- People performed the limited tasks of a simple agrarian community
based on groups of families or clans in village settlements

- One village or group is in “mechanical solidarity” with the other.

-Each group is relatively self-contained (farming, childrearing, etc)

-Division of labor is restricted

VILLAGE

VILLAGE

VILLAGE
Modern Society

- Emerge due to the increasing FOOD

number of population and its density
which leads to a more competing
society

- Resources becomes scarce

CLOTHING
-Division of labor became more
complex and created an increasing
interdependency among people

-Specialized institutions were formed

HEALTH
by people to deal with the particular CARE
needs of the society
 The Theory: Max Weber

CAPITALISM IN
WESTERN EUROPE

Max Weber (1864-1920),

German economist and social
historian, known for his systematic
approach to world history and the
development of Western
civilization. Challenged by the
Marxist theory of economic
determinism, Weber combined his
interest in economics with
sociology in an attempt to RATIONALISM
establish, through historical study,
that historical causation was not
influenced merely by economic
considerations.
Ethos of Modern Capitalism

- Western Europeans
practiced careful
investment of capital EAST WEST

- Rational ethos of the

“spirit of capitalism” is
the principal factor and
not making money

-Economic vs. Religious

Calvinism: Protestant Ethic
- The distinctive care, calculation and hard work of Western business was
encouraged by the development of the protestant ethic

- Religious concerns of “predestination” and “damnation” helped fashion

a work ethic which was in tune with the spirit of capitalism

SPIRIT OF
CAPITALISM
 The Theory: Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons (1902-
1979), American sociologist,
whose theories about the
mechanisms of society and
the organizational principles
behind societal structures
influenced sociology.
UTILITARIAN – HERMENEUTIC –
POSITIVIST IDEALISTIC
TRADITION TRADITION
Parsons developed a general theory for the
study of society called action theory, based on
the methodological principle of voluntarism
and the epistemological principle of analytic
realism. The theory attempted to establish a
balance between two major methodological
traditions. For Parsons, voluntarism established
a third alternative between these two.
Tradition vs. Modernity

Modernity

Tradition
Tradition vs. Modernity

TRADITION MODERNITY
• VALUE OF TRADITIONALISM IS • PEOPLE ARE NOT SLAVES TO
DOMINANT TRADITION

• KINSHIP SYSTEM IS THE • KINSHIP HAS A VERY MUCH

DECISIVE REFERENCE POINT LESS ROLE; MOTIVATION
FOR ALL SOCIAL PRACTICES
• MODERN SOCIETY IS
• EMOTIONAL, SUPERSTITIOUS FORWARD-LOOKING AND
AND FATALISTIC APPROACH INNOVATIVE
TO THE WORLD
 The Theory: Abba Lerner

Abba Ptachya
Lerner (October 28,
1903 – October 27,
1982) was an American
economist. Lerner was
born on October 28,
1903. He grew up in a
Jewish family, which
MODERNITY
emigrated to Great
Britainwhen Lerner was
three years old. From
the age of sixteen he
worked as a machinist,
a teacher in Hebrew
schools, and as a
businessman. He
entered the London
School of Economics in
1929 where he would
study under Friedrish
Hayek. A six-month stay
TRANSITIONAL
at Cambridge in 1934–
1935 brought him into
SOCIETY
contact with Keynes.
Modern Society

EMPATHY
- Traditional society is non-participant
– it deploys people by kinship into
communities isolated form each
other

- The more “empathetic” the society EMPATHY

is, the more it will become modern

-In modern society, more individuals

exhibit higher empathetic capacity
than any previous society
EMPATHY
On Tradition

Modernization theorists often saw traditions as obstacles to economic growth.

Furthermore, while modernization might deliver violent, radical change for
traditional societies it was thought worth the price. Critics insist that traditional
societies were often destroyed without ever gaining promised advantages if,
among other things, the economic gap between advanced societies and such
societies actually increased. The net effect of modernization for some societies
was therefore the replacement of traditional poverty by a more modern form of
misery, according to these critics. Others point to improvements in living
standards, physical infrastructure, education and economic opportunity to
refute such criticisms
 The Theory: Walt Whitman Rostow

AGE OF HIGH MASS-

CONSUMPTION
DRIVE TO MATURITY

TAKE-OFF
Walt Whitman Rostow
(October 7, 1916 – February 13, PRECONDITIONS
2003) was an American FOR TAKE-OFF
economist and political theorist.
His The Stages of Economic
Growth: A Non-Communist
TRADITIONAL SOCIETY
Manifesto (1960) concentrates
on the economic system side of
the modernization, trying to
show factors needed for a
country to reach the path to
modernization in his Rostovian ROSTOVIAN TAKE-OFF MODEL
take-off model
Summary

1. There is a clear mixture of sociological, psychological and

economic features to modernization theory
2. Most accounts give greatest priority to the role played by the
values, norms and beliefs of people in determining the sort of
society
3. The history of the development of industrialization in the West
is no longer regarded as something unique but as blueprint for
development throughout the world
4. The evolution of societies occurs as traditional behavior
patterns give way under the pressures of modernization
5. Process of “modernization by diffusion” should encourage the
development of a number of features in the Third World
6. Different societies are at different stages of development
Theoretical Implications

1. Lack of development is seen as a condition prior to

development
2. Lack of development is the fault of Third World countries’
socio-economic systems that create obstacles to
modernization
3. Development is presented as a relatively straightforward
process of efficient social adaptation to periods of strain
4. Development occurs not only along Western lines for
Third World societies but also those countries which are
now socialist states
5. The Western economies will continue to grow and
develop so that they enjoy the prosperity of the period of
“high mass consumption”
T PRINCIPAL TERMS OF THE THEORY ARE MUCH TOO VAGUE TO BE OF MUCH USE
AS CLASSIFICATIONS OF DISTINCT SOCIETIES
h
e ALTHOUGH THE THEORY IS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE WAY SOCIETY DEVELOPS
THERE IS A LITTLE EXPLANATION OFFERED FOR THIS PROCESS

C ABANDONMENT OF THE TRADITIONAL WAY DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN

THE EMERGENCE OF THE MODERN SOCIETY

r AS INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION DEVELOP THE WIDER KINSHIP

i SYSTEM IS WEAKENED AS PEOPLE BECOME PRIMARILY CONCERNED WITH THEIR OWN

NUCLEAR FAMILY

t WEBER’S THESIS IS DISTORTED BY MCCLELLAND’S THEORETICAL HANDIWORK

i IT SEEMS THAT PEOPLE MAY BE ABLE TO USE THEIR “TRADITIONAL” ROLES AND EXPECTATIONS AS
RESOURCES THAT CAN BE DRAWN ON TO SERVE THEOR SOCIAL AND MATERIAL NEEDS

q
u IT ENTIRELY IGNORES THE IMPACT OF COLONIALISM AND IMPERIALISM ON THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

e
Conclusions

• Modernization theory is clearly an

oversimplified model of development that
lacks two essential ingredients: an adequate
historical input and a structural perspective

• Historically: It ignores wealth of evidence

• Structurally: It is insensitive to the specific

ways of economic growth may be interpreted
or modified within existing social
relationships
Daghang Salamat
Kenzlee E. Ybañez
Sangguniang Barangay Secretary
Basak, Lapu-lapu City 6015
Cebu, Philippines