Modernization and Dependency: Perspectives on Latin American Underdevelopment

Authors: J. Samuel Valenzuela and Arturo Valenzuela.
Source: Comparative Politics, Vol. 10, No. 4 (July 1978), pp. 535-557.
Published by: Ph.D. Program in Political Science, City University of New York.
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Significance: The article analyzes different perspectives on Latin American underdevelopment, particularly focusing on modernization and dependency theories.

Post World War II: The war’s devastation led to the U.S. becoming a global superpower both economically and militarily.
Rise of socialism: The Soviet Union influenced Eastern Europe and the Chinese Communists gained control of China.
Need for revitalization: An urgent strategy was required to aid Western economies, resulting in U.S. investment in Europe and Japan.
Decolonization: The end of colonial empires commenced with new nations advocating for sovereignty and independence.

U.S. policymakers were concerned about the global spread of Marxism in these new nations.
Scholars turned their focus towards the economic and developmental dynamics of these regions, resulting in extensive literature on developing nations.
Economic perspectives: While many proposed adaptations of the Marshall Plan for the Third World, disparities in development experiences warranted a different understanding.

Definitions and Assumptions:
- Modernization perspective focuses on cultural characteristics as determinants of developmental potential.
- Major contributors included economists, anthropologists, and sociologists who argued for the importance of cultural and social factors in developmental contexts.
Ideal Types:
- Tradition vs. Modernity: A dichotomous framework viewing societies on an evolutionary continuum from traditional to modern.
- Traditional societies: Characterized by ascriptive, particularistic norms and limited mobility.
- Modern societies: Characterized by achievement, universalism, and mobility.
Obstacles to Development:
- Traditional norms and institutions obstruct modernization. To modernize, societies must adopt new values, leading to social, economic, and political transformations.
Process of Modernization:
- Change is often precipitated by innovations challenging traditional institutions.
- Modernity is understood as a normative expectation of rational behavior in pursuit of utilitarian goals.

Various scholars criticized the arbitrary categorization of traditional phenomena and emphasized that many traditional traits can have modernizing functions.
Notable criticisms: Elements in traditional societies might foster economic behaviors contrary to modernization theories, indicating that behavior is context-dependent.
Evolving Views on Modernization:
- By the 1970s, some modernization theorists recognized a widening development gap between rich and poor nations, questioning assumptions of uniform development pathways.

Traditional attitudes connected to colonial legacies are viewed as roadblocks to development.
S.M. Lipset’s key premise: The traditions stemming from Catholicism contribute to underdevelopment, contrasting with Protestant-derived values in more successful regions.
K.H. Silvert argued for education reform targeting modernizing attitudes rather than reinforcing traditional systems.
Cultural Determinism: Assertions promoting the idea that cultural values dictate development patterns became prevalent.

Developed within various social sciences, aligning with Marxist insights, focusing on the socio-political structure of countries within global capitalism.
Core vs. Periphery: The global capitalist structure dictates that development and underdevelopment are interlinked aspects of a singular process.
Assumptions of the dependency model:
- Domestic cultural elements are not primarily responsible for backwardness.
- Development must be contextualized within historical global systems of economic relations.

Differences in development patterns are attributed to unequal historical connections established during colonization.
Dominant center-benefited countries develop dynamically, while peripheral countries exhibit a reflexive development.
Historical conditions show dependency as complex and varied, with multiple factors influencing development outcomes.

Methodological divergence: Modernization employs a microsociological lens; dependency utilizes macrosociological frameworks focusing on structures and global systems.
Time dimension: Dependency emphasizes historical processes shaping today’s economic and social landscapes, while modernization often does not account for these intricacies.
Human behavior perception: Modernization theorists see behavior as influenced by cultural norms, whereas dependency theories highlight rational actions influenced by structural constraints.

Modernization and dependency represent two fundamentally different perspectives attempting to explain Latin America's underdevelopment.
Methodologies are distinct; modernization advocates a more individual-centered approach while dependency requires broader socio-economic contexts.
Both trends highlight the complexities of development—modernization proposes universal stages, while dependency acknowledges the uniqueness of historical experiences in each region.
The dependency perspective is more open to historical specificities, whereas modernization risk oversimplification of complex phenomena.

Cites numerous scholars and historical frameworks that provide foundational thoughts and critiques on the modifications in these theories.