Modernisation Theory and Rostow's Stages of Growth

These flashcards cover the definitions, concepts, and stages associated with Modernisation Theory and W.W. Rostow's economic growth model as discussed in the lecture.

Modernisation

A process of social change where less developed societies acquire characteristics common to more developed societies, originally representing the transition from a traditional agrarian society to a modern society based on trade and industry.

Westernisation

A concept often used interchangeably with modernisation, particularly referring to Africa following the developmental footsteps of Europe, its former colonizer.

Modernisation Theory

A socio-economic theory stating that development in the developing world can be attained by following the processes used by currently developed nations, as proposed by Rostow in $1960$.

Internal Factors

Endogenous variables identified by modernization theorists as responsible for underdevelopment, including illiteracy, traditional agrarian structures, traditional attitudes, low division of labor, and lack of infrastructure.

Traditional Values

Identified by Talcott Parsons ($1964$) as the greatest obstacle to development, characterized by commitment to past customs, rituals, and practices that lead to fatalism about the future.

Extended Kinship Systems

Social structures criticized by Parsons for hindering geographical mobility, which is considered essential for quick and effective industrialization.

Ascription and Particularism

Traditional social characteristics where elites are reproduced through birth and inheritance rather than talent, undermining modernity by discouraging individual achievement.

Corruption

The abuse of public power for personal ends, appearing in forms such as bribery, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, patronage, graft, and embezzlement.

Political Injustice

The violation of individual liberties including denial of voting rights, due process, or freedom of speech, often stemming from unfair procedures where some lack voice and representation.

Economic Injustice

A state's failure to provide individuals with basic necessities like food and housing, and the maintenance of huge wealth discrepancies between the elite and the poor.

Globalization

The interdependence of world economies brought about by cross-border trade of goods, services, technology, and the flow of investment, people, and information.

Localization

A strategy within globalization where companies adapt products to meet the specific needs and preferences of local buyers to increase the odds of success in new markets.

Walt Whitman Rostow (WW Rostow)

A United States economist and political theorist who proposed the Rostovian take-off model of economic growth in his $1960$ book, "The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto."

Traditional Society (Stage $1$)

The first stage of growth characterized by subsistence agriculture, a barter system, pre-Newtonian technology, and investment levels less than $5\%$.

Pre-Newtonian Science

The level of technology and attitude toward the physical world found in traditional societies, resulting in limited production functions.

Preconditions for Take-off (Stage $2$)

The transitional stage where a society builds conditions for growth, characterized by the start of human capital accumulation, investment above $5\%$, and a shift from agrarian to industrial focus.

The Take-off (Stage $3$)

A period of rapid industrialization where the rate of effective investment and savings rises from $5\%$ to $10\%$ or more of the national income.

Drive to Maturity (Stage $4$)

A long interval of sustained progress attained approximately $60$ years after take-off, where an economy can produce "anything that it chooses to produce" and investment reaches $10\text{--}20\%$.

Age of High Mass Consumption (Stage $5$)

The final stage where leading sectors shift toward durable consumer goods and services, characterized by high output levels and increased employment in the service sector.

Fatalism

A value system in traditional societies assuming that the range of possibilities for future generations is fixed to what it was for previous generations, resisting social change.