Ch. 4, Greig, et. al.

This chapter will focus on: Enlightenment and the concept of

development Poorer countries and the legacy of colonialism Development pacesetters and late-comers: Endogenous and exogenous forces in the

process of development

Progress and Modernity

Since the 18th cc, Western civilization tended to revere the ‘modern’ and debase the ‘traditional’. This contrasts with Mediavel Europe.

Late middle ages: religious dogma Modern dwarfs standing on the shoulders of

giants Modern era: science Descartes: grand sceptic questioned

everything but god’s existence.Modern dwarfs began to gain confidence that their accumulated height-derived from standing on the shoulders of the giants- gave them greater vision than their predecessors.

Enlightenment approach: accumulated, generalizable knowledge

Versus tradition: culture is pervaded with what has already been said, by recurrence of discourse.

Secularization: both natural order and social orders can be understood through reason and hard work

Hence, concept of development: “with reason and hard work, human society would be set on an ever-improving upward curve”.

Meanwhile, French Revolution and Industrial Revolution acted as catalysts of modernity

Industrial Revolution: loosened rigid traditional relationships and transformed the countryside through agricultural and technological innovation. Brought new social relationships.

French Revolution of 1789- “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”- shook the European social order based on fixed estates of monarchy, aristocracy and clergy.

Scholars analysing this transformation:

Simon and Comte (French sociology): a more rational society could be constructed through applying the tools of science, observation, experimentation and measurement.

Karl Marx: modern capitalism transformed cultures, dissolved superstitution and drew pre-capitalist cultures into the orbit of modernity.

Max Weber: traced the rise of capitalism and the effects of calculative rationality on all aspects of everyday life, from work through to the organization of public affairs.

Durkheim: division of labor and societal change that led to the breakdown of traditional communities and rise of modern urban associations

Spencer: social Darwinism, applauded the modern emphasis on competitive behaviour.

Linear thinkers: the idea that history progresses along a single path.

After 1945, focus on post-colonial development: Classical sociological theories adapted.

Postwar development thought can be seen as the continuation of the Enlightenment and West European Industrial Revolution.

But, even then there was a tension between certainty (brought by accumulated knowledge) and uncertainty derived from the rejection of single privileged truth.

Paradoxes of modernity: for Marx, creation of social wealth had to be ofset against problems such as the growing concentration of capital, the polarization of wealth and alienation of producers

Weber: instrumental rational efficiency of modern life turning individuals into ‘little cogs’ encased in a regulatory ‘iron cage’ of their own making.

Durkheim: freedom from traditional constraints could lead to ‘anomie’, a condition where individuals lost their sense of place within changing social structures.

But the ‘cult of progress’ came to dominate postwar social theories. The more sceptical and pessimistic side of classical sociological thought was marginalized, leaving more optimistic approach to developmental processes.

Belief in progress is the prozac of the thinking classes

‘secular religion’

Colonialism and Inequality Direct colonial rule around the globe Justifications: gold, but also religious zeal Later other ‘modern’ justifications: indigenous people were

‘backward’ or ‘pre-civilized’. Protection or tutelage. Racism: ‘scientific’ justification for national inequalities Phrenology and eugenics: aimed to demonstrate that

inequality between peoples was a natural phenomenon manifesting itself in the racial superiority of certain peoples over others.

Ethnicity and environmental determinism used to explain higher level of civilization achieved in Europe over other parts of the world.

Until the WWII, there was relatively little serious discussion of the causes of mass poverty and likewise its remedy

After WWII empire was less popular Colonial rebellions Opposition movements to exploitation Students sent to center metropolis and their

awareness of exploitation (beginnings of nationalism)

1917 Bolshevik Revolution provided anti-colonial movements with another illustration of anti-imperial possibilities.

Other examples of resistance and success: Japan as an industrializing and military power

Liberal sentiments in Europe and USA But rise of fascist powers in 1930s Anti-colonial movement proved

irresistible in the wake of the defeat of the fascist axis in 1945

Legacy of colonialism is controversial Structuralist theorists claim that

socio-economic development of postcolonial societies has been distorted by colonial legacy

But others argue that, on balance, it was a ‘good thing’

D’Souza, Windschuttle (apologists): For example British colonialism brought technological change as well as scientific and liberal humanist education.

Amartya Sen (critic): large scale famines were a feature of British colonial rule until the 1940s. Since independence, India ignored such catastrophes.

But, let us return to our question: are global wealth and poverty interconnected? Is global equality a consequence of structures that hold the world together as an economic unit or, alternatively, are poorer countries simply at an ‘earlier’ stage of development?

But, first, more theory from 20th century

The Setting for Development Practice after 1945 UN membership: new states proliferate – from 51

in 1945 to 156 in 1981. ‘Development’ as an intellectual and practical

project 1945-70: ‘golden age’…economic boom Keynes’s theory on the rise: using state power as a

way of maintaining high levels of employment, generate local demand and deliver social services and steer the economy away from recession.

Postwar reconstruction Employment levels, social services, steer away

from recession Less market mechanism and more regulation Only Hayek opposed regulation and Keynesianism,

p. 68 box: 4.4.

Replicating this model in the developing world

Cold War meant that USA and West wanted postcolonial countries to follow a particular trajectory

Soviet Union as alternative model of development

The threat of communism Kennedy: peaceful revolution (development)

versus violent revolution…. Independence struggles and socialist

ideology Poverty, thus, became important to the US

Poorer countries thus became a major battleground for the two camps of Cold War.

Poorer countries negotiated to exploit concessions from superpowers

All territory was considered strategic Any search for alternative paths to development

could prompt foreign intervention from superpowers USA’s growing global economic reach from 1820s

onwards that reached a peak after 1945 UN, Bretton Woods, GATT, IMF, WB: new postwar

governance framework Once Europe rebuilt, focus was on postcolonial

states

Concessional loans given by the World Bank to developing countries- US’s hegemonic role throughout the capitalist world was secured

Unequal terms of trade- between industrialized and non-industrialized world

Rise of structuralist economists: they argued that

‘poverty’ of capital and technology and hence the ‘backwardness’ of poorer countries was a consequence of the way in which global trade was structured.