Underdevelopment: More Than a State of Mind
Student Name: Fujia Wang
Student Number: 214122782
Instructor Name: Miguel Gonzalez
Course Name: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Words: 1040
In 2010, Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake that destroyed land and lives alike, almost wiping clean the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Because of the underdeveloped nature of Haiti at the time of the natural disaster, the country was susceptible to increased levels of damage and destruction, given that much of their infrastructure was not built in a way that would allow it to be able to withstand the severe weather conditions. The reasons behind the severe and chronic poverty in Haiti are disputed …show more content…
Modernization Theory posits that underdeveloped countries in the third world are in a traditional state, and that they should be aiming to modernize by following in the footsteps of countries in the first world which would already be considered modern (Isbister, 1991, p. 36-37). Dependency theory, however, rejects Modernization Theory and claims that underdevelopment “is not just the failure to develop; it is an active process of impoverishment” (Ibister, 1991, p. 42). Dependency theorists acknowledge that third world underdeveloped countries are so despite and even because of their interactions with developed countries. In order for capitalism to advance, first world countries need to receive inexpensive production from somewhere and underdeveloped third world countries became the counterpart to capitalism. This relationship ensures that the rich countries continue to develop and become richer, and the underdeveloped countries remain in a state of impoverishment – it is not traditional or natural, it is something that has been done to them as an action against them by countries with greater economic power (Ibister, 1991, p. …show more content…
These theories, however, then blame the country and their cultural practices for their underdevelopment, while allowing the developed countries to remain guilt-free about the wealth gap that persists. Brooks said himself that “we’re all supposed to respect each other’s cultures” (2010, n.p.), but goes on to blame the Haitian people for being progress-resistant when considering the damages that were endured in the 2010 hurricane. Lawrence E. Harrison’s Underdevelopment is a State of Mind would agree with these claims, saying that the “creative capacity of human beings is at the heart of the development process” (1985, p. 228), inferring then that those countries which remain underdeveloped must have a lower creative capacity or less ambition than those countries which have “progressed” into the modern way of life. This way of thinking allows those of us in the first world to feel as though we are not a part of the problem, it provides an easy out to feelings of guilt surrounding the way that the world continues to operate. Our capitalist societies remain rich because other countries remain poor, but to instead believe that this is because of their incapacity and not our own self-interest makes this feel
Student Name: Fujia Wang
Student Number: 214122782
Instructor Name: Miguel Gonzalez
Course Name: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
Words: 1040
In 2010, Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake that destroyed land and lives alike, almost wiping clean the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Because of the underdeveloped nature of Haiti at the time of the natural disaster, the country was susceptible to increased levels of damage and destruction, given that much of their infrastructure was not built in a way that would allow it to be able to withstand the severe weather conditions. The reasons behind the severe and chronic poverty in Haiti are disputed …show more content…
Modernization Theory posits that underdeveloped countries in the third world are in a traditional state, and that they should be aiming to modernize by following in the footsteps of countries in the first world which would already be considered modern (Isbister, 1991, p. 36-37). Dependency theory, however, rejects Modernization Theory and claims that underdevelopment “is not just the failure to develop; it is an active process of impoverishment” (Ibister, 1991, p. 42). Dependency theorists acknowledge that third world underdeveloped countries are so despite and even because of their interactions with developed countries. In order for capitalism to advance, first world countries need to receive inexpensive production from somewhere and underdeveloped third world countries became the counterpart to capitalism. This relationship ensures that the rich countries continue to develop and become richer, and the underdeveloped countries remain in a state of impoverishment – it is not traditional or natural, it is something that has been done to them as an action against them by countries with greater economic power (Ibister, 1991, p. …show more content…
These theories, however, then blame the country and their cultural practices for their underdevelopment, while allowing the developed countries to remain guilt-free about the wealth gap that persists. Brooks said himself that “we’re all supposed to respect each other’s cultures” (2010, n.p.), but goes on to blame the Haitian people for being progress-resistant when considering the damages that were endured in the 2010 hurricane. Lawrence E. Harrison’s Underdevelopment is a State of Mind would agree with these claims, saying that the “creative capacity of human beings is at the heart of the development process” (1985, p. 228), inferring then that those countries which remain underdeveloped must have a lower creative capacity or less ambition than those countries which have “progressed” into the modern way of life. This way of thinking allows those of us in the first world to feel as though we are not a part of the problem, it provides an easy out to feelings of guilt surrounding the way that the world continues to operate. Our capitalist societies remain rich because other countries remain poor, but to instead believe that this is because of their incapacity and not our own self-interest makes this feel