Globalization: Modernization vs. Dependency Theory

Over the last hundred years many events and situations have occurred throughout the world which have affected not only the areas that they took place, but because of industrialization, media relations, politics, and economic factors, have affected the world as a whole. Some of these occurrences have been negative and some have been positive. Events that take place in very influential countries, such as the United States, also have a tendency to make a larger impact on other countries because more relationships are tied through them. This makes countries like the United States able to purposely sway decisions in a beneficial direction, which is why the way the United States conducts its business is criticized so thoroughly. There are some people who believe that this effect (globalization) is a good thing and that “…social and cultural change could take place in all societies through industrial capitalism.” These are the people who believe in the modernization theory. There are also some people that believe this is not a good thing and that it leads to “…global inequality as resulting from historical exploitation of the poor, underdeveloped societies by rich, develop

In my opinion, by in large, I believe that the dependency theory is the way to think in terms of globalization. The modernization theory states that one thing needed to modernize is “infusion of capital.” I believe that this is all too true, and the more advanced society becomes, the more they must take away from others in order to make themselves greater. At this point in the United States development, third world countries are like resources that we are exhausting, their raw materials, their industry, and even their people. Entire cultures who wish not to modernize and to stick with their traditional values are not given any choice because their environments around them are changing due to everyone else modernizing. We saw this with the Kung tribe in the video we watched in class. Their values traditional values had been destroyed in less than one generation because they lost the land the needed to be able to exist as hunter gatherers. This is something that will continue happening and I do not believe that there is anything we can do about it except compensate heavily.

ed societies.” The people who follow this are considered dependency theorist.

Dependency theory offers an almost exact opposite view on globalization than modernization does. It looks at how modernization theory is structured and basically attacks it, and with some very good reason. In the modernization theory it says that globalization has a positive impact through infusion of capital from outside sources. Dependency theory does not deny this but condemns the terms under which it is done. First world countries like America are indirectly allowed to set standards of Third world countries by making unfair, but unavoidable, deals. These deals are guised under what seems to be something helpful. For example the polit

Some topics in this essay:
WW Rostow, Third World, Dependency Theory, Anthony Giddens, modernization theory, dependency theory, traditional values, world countries, globalization modernization, people believe, third world, Globalization Modernization, third world countries, stage theory, countries united, capital outside, living consumption material, standard living consumption,