Imperialism Vs Modernism

Modernization theorists are typically not focused on imperialism as an issue. These theorists believe that the third world societies are, “traditional,” and that imperialism did not have any lasting effects or dramatic changes to these third world countries or the poverty they experience. Modernization focuses on the idea that each country develops into modernity at the rate in which they want to, so the more developed countries “chose” to become more modern, while the third world countries “chose” to stick to tradition. They believe these traditional beliefs are a barrier to the development of a country, but the modern societies are more open and encourage economic and technological growth. They feel as though imperialism didn’t cause any …show more content…
Imperialism forced these countries, such as Managalase, to abandon their language which caused their marriage negotiations to collapse. Along with the forced interactions about following Christianity to go to heaven, all of these things stripped these countries of their “tradition” which modernization theorists say is the reason these countries are still impoverished. Modernization theorists would fight back by stating that in the past, societies did not need the technology that they have today and it is traditional. The United States developed out of imperialism, and they did just fine, so the third world countries chose to become the way they are. They would suggest that if China and the United States developed from imperialism, and developed well, then the third world countries just chose this way of life, and they could change that at any point like the other …show more content…
The idea that there are stronger and weaker powers, and that the strong take advantage of the weak really rings true to me. It is relative to so many of the events that occur in our society still today. In the past, Europe and other big nations made promises to the weaker nations that they would provide them with advanced technology and healthcare for them. One of the things we talked about in class was the small country would grow the cotton or the tobacco, and then the big name countries would create the cigarettes or the tee shirts and sell them. The big countries made the profit, while leaving the little countries behind and with very little to nothing. This still happens today, and it is a big part of what we do at Bluffton. We do try to buy and use fair trade items because they were not produced in these harsh conditions. I feel as though it is characteristic of people believing they are more powerful and “entitled” using those who cannot fend for themselves. The exploitation of these smaller countries still pushes them more and more into poverty, which is why I believe in dependency