Something old...

Was going thru my folders, and found this in the folder I keep my assignments… enjoy...

Question:

Analyse critically the modernisation and development theory by Gunder Frank and relate it to your country.

Answer:

In the 1950s and the 1960s, a theory was popularised which was based in the development and the modernisation of a country or society. This theory is called the Modernisation Theory which is also known as the Development theory.

The theory or modernisation and development were developed by a German economic historian and a sociologist named Andre Gunder Frank. He was born in Germany but when Adolf Hitler was elected as Chancellor, his family migrated to Switzerland. In 1941, he migrated to the United States. He was the founder of the Dependency Theory and the World Systems Theory which is highly related and significant to the modernization and development theory.

The modernisation and development theory is a theory which highlights the positive roles played by the developed countries in facilitating and assisting the under-developed countries. It studies how the First World country helps the Third World and Second World country, for that matter, to become a modern and developed country. Most of the time, this theory is contrasted with the Dependency Theory. This theory is a wider part of the themes in sociology which is known as socio-cultural evolution.

Based on the studies conducted and carried out by Andre Gunder Frank, the modernisation of a country was firstly put importance on the mass media. It was basically the duty of the mass media to disseminate information and try to modernise the under-developed countries. This theory also dictates that one of the main objectives of this theory is for the political education of undeveloped country. From this theory, the Second and Third World countries are said to benefit in aspects such as economics, politically, culturally and demographically from the First World countries. This is said to be achieved by the acculturation of modern policies and values of the Western World.

As mentioned earlier, the theory of modernisation and development was made popular in 1950s and the 1960s. It combines other socio-cultural studies and practical experiences especially during the decolonisation era. Basically, the theory states this:

(i) The Western World countries are the most developed, while the rest of the world which was formerly known as colonies are less developed compared to the Western World countries. However, it is also stated that these less developed countries will eventually be of the same standard of the Western World countries.

(ii) Development stages go from the traditional societies to the developed ones. This indicates that the development of an under-developed country would take some time and is not an overnight process. Eventually, it will become a developed country.

(iii) The Second and the Third World countries are left behind on their social progress and need to be directed on their way of being advanced. This means that the under-developed countries are not developed in terms of their social progress and are in need of guidance to be a developed country.

The modernisation and development theory is very much based on modernisation, according to Andre Gunder Frank. A lot of countries these days are emulating the developed countries in order to become a country which is more developed. These countries take the examples of the most successful societies and cultures. It states that it is obviously possible to do so by way if the better developed countries helping the less developed countries, directly or indirectly.

Development and modernisation has a glorious history. Since before and after the World War II, works on development and modernisation has been ongoing. It has been more active post World War II. Development was viewed as a linear progress in every country. The most developed countries, The First World countries are Western Europe and North America. They are the ones who are most advanced in terms of technology. Not only that, but they are a lot richer, lived longer and went to school longer. That may sound a little ironic but it is true to a certain extent. The Second World countries are the Communist countries while the Third World countries are the rest of the countries which was formerly colonised and which has gained independence.

The idea was that other countries were ‘behind’ and needed to catch up. This catching up would be achieved by modernising the Third World in the name of development. This Modernisation Theory became especially powerful as the Cold War developed and Western countries were worried about the spread of Communism. In these terms, development becomes about changing ‘them’ to make then more like ‘us’. Clearly this is verging on racism, assuming that our society is the best and most advanced, and to improve other societies, we must make them more like ours. There is little difference between this sort of attitude and colonialism, which was often justified on the same grounds. For colonialists, the noble savage had to be civilised. For the development specialist, the poor, undernourished, under-schooled exotic ‘other’ had to be clothed, fed and schooled like us to make their lives better. The underlying basis for these ideas is that we are gradually evolving to some common goal, which is a modern industrial society.

For some thirty years following World War II modernization theory led to disastrous development policies, which lay the foundations for many problems we see today. The focus during this era was solely on economic growth, with the hope that if the Gross Domestic Product was raised, the majority of people would benefit by a trickle-down effect. This approach to development does not work. Modernisation theory fell out of favour because it failed to produce many positive results. Many theorists say that it failed to grasp the realities of different people round the world. Different people have different needs, and different societies require different things in order to flourish. The inflexible blueprint approach of modernisation and development theory could not meet these demands.

‘Radical’ Marxist scholars attacked the whole development industry in the 70s, claiming it was little more that neo-colonialism and was in fact very detrimental. Development served, they argued, to make countries more and more dependent on their former colonial masters. Capitalism was seen as the driving force behind development policies, and capitalism is inherently exploitative in its relentless pursuit of profit, claimed the Marxist scholars. This theory is called Dependency Theory. In this model, development is pursued in such a way so as to keep poor or weak countries poor so that they can continue to be exploited. This model set the giving of donor countries on one hand against the taking of resources and profits with the other. The Northern hemisphere is the core of capitalism and other countries are on the periphery. When a country can expand only as a reflection of the expansion of another country, they are in an unequal and dependant relationship. Thus, poorer countries were not undeveloped but rather they were under-developed, on purpose, by more powerful nations. The Marxists then went on to advocate radical structural change in order to overcome this inequality. However, the track records of countries which have experienced a socialist revolution are not brilliant and not necessarily very desirable to emulate.

Thus development was in a rut. On the one hand, ideas of modernisation and bringing others up to our own level had been thrown out as inherently racist and colonial and they failed to make much real impact in many countries. On the other hand, Dependency Theory is useful as a critique in highlighting the negative aspect of modernisation, but it hardly presents a viable solution.

The 1980s saw a refocusing on economic expansion as a solution to social problems, such as poverty, in many countries. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank adopted with vigour a renewed modernisation approach, forcing privatisation and structural adjustment on all of the poorest countries. In order to qualify for a loan, countries had to meet stringent conditions on public spending and opening up their markets. These policies have proven disastrous, as the recent bankruptcy of Argentina demonstrates. Markets are not the answer to addressing the challenges of poverty.

We are now in an era of ‘post modernism’. Development is in a bit of a mess, but shifts in policy are rapidly occurring. Development is no longer about economic growth. The focus today is on ‘sustainability’, with economics increasingly being viewed as a means to achieving the end. In a nutshell, sustainability means ensuring the ability of people to meet their needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

With regards to Malaysia, the modernization and development theory do apply. It would be a mistake to say we are an under-developed country but according to the connotations made by the Western World, we are considered a Third World country. Malaysia was formerly a colony of the British. We gained independence in 1957 when the Union Jack was lowered down and the flag of the Federation of Malaya was put up. Ever since, we have been directly and indirectly guided by the Western World, in particular, the English in many aspects – our education system, our constitutional system, our law and judicial systems and of course administrative governmental system. We emulate and are taught how to do things according to their ways which they think is best.

For further illustrations, our country had an education system which was the secular school system. In improving the education system, we had all sorts of reports coming in to improve it. One of them was the Barnes Report. This is an example of the application of the modernisation and development theory. Apart from that, we also observe how Malaysia condone to the wants and needs of the Western World. For example, Malaysia have been convinced to join a few organisations which were established by a treaty which was also initiated by the Western World – joining the United Nations, the Organsation of the Islamic Council, International Monetary Fund, the Geneva Conventions, the Convention Against Torture and the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. All of this shows that we do apply the modernisation and development theory – that we are assisted and guided by the Western World in certain things. Culturally, we do emulate the Westerners. We see these days that so many of the Malaysians are adopting the Western culture. We see how people are now not conservative anymore.

As much as we are being assisted by the Western World, we do stand on our own ground. The government of Malaysia have made its name internationally by being one of the youngest countries to be rather developed in a lot of sense. Having only gained independence after 50 years, Malaysia has definitely grown into a great country which not only has developed its own country but also try to assist under-developed countries in facing their problems.

In a nutshell, the modernisation and development theory is one which may seem rather biased in terms which it states which country is First World, Second World or Third World but there is sense to it. Some are not happy with the fact that who gives the right to label countries when they way things are run in countries are different. However, there is much relevance to this theory and it does apply in Malaysia. Through this theory, it has proven that Malaysia with some assistance from First World countries has bloomed into a beautiful flower and is also trying to help under-developed nations to become more advanced.

have you contributed anything?

As professionals, do we provide services to people for remuneration or for the desire to help?.. Shouldn’t we be governed by the standards/ethics we were taught in school/tertiary institutions?.. Are we not duty bound to help others first?.. Why such a materialistic attitude when it comes to providing our services?.. Doctor’s especially! Remember your Hippocrates Oath… what’s the point of taking an oath if you’re going to break it?..

The disunity, the segregation that exist in our modern world, our lives is due to our attitude in life… some, myself included, will call it Divine Retribution, others call it the evolution of human behavior, but whatever you call it, this cancer at the heart of our existence is leading us down a path of destruction… we are a greedy society, a greedy civilization… nothing is ever enough, nothing quenches our thirst for more, we are never contended with what God All-Mighty gives us…

I’m not saying don’t work hard, I’m saying work hard and work ethically… Don’t always think about the monetary aspects of your services… Don’t take advantage of your reputation, remember, it takes years to build up a reputation, but only minutes to destroy it…

It’s time we return to our roots… contribute back to society…

better to or not to understand?

Black and White?.. What about the grey area???

The definition of what’s right or wrong isn’t always clearly defined (definition, define, redundant I know)…

What would happen to this modern world if we all understood each other?.. World Peace?.. LoL!.. that will not happen even if we understood each other… understanding each other could lead to WAR (isn’t it obvious that war is inevitable?)…

Think about it… if you think you knew what somebody who has something that you want is thinking about, wouldn’t you try to out-maneuver that person to get that thing that he or she has that you want? (confused?)

the crux of what I’m saying it, war is human nature, understanding each other will not change that fact, but might encourage us to start more wars BECAUSE we think we can win the wars we start…

Rambles during a meeting…

How tedious it is to do a monotonous task… the same-old-same-old task over-and-over again… sure I find ways to entertain myself, but there’s only so much I can do when I have no internet connection (except in the library)… I end up playing solitaire again and again… AHHH!!!!

I’m drafting this blog entry DURING A MEETING… an extremely boring meeting… I don’t see a point for me to be here… All I hear are the names of the lawyers… NONE of the lawyers are here, since all of them are in a meeting with some VVIP client (all the firms clients are VVIPs anyway)…

Looking at the words printed on my sleeve (of my wind-breaker) it appears to me that it’s ironic… “TRUTH”… what? Working in a law firm it’s hard to disclose the truth… what we do, what I assist with my research (mind you I do a lot of research) is to help find ways to hide the truth… owh the irony…

I used to preach (not literally) that in everything we do we need to stick to our convictions, but here I am working, assisting, to cover up the truth, which goes against my ethics… money changes people…

“Back to Thruday, 19th”… “I dunno la”… just stuff that’s being discussed in this meeting…

Which reminds me, I need to get myself a 2010 diary… I’m not the most structured of people, but there’s a system I abide by… NOTHING, NOBODY and NO WAY IN HELL, will I agree to meet anybody unless they give me a 24-hour (minimum) notice… if needs to be penciled into my diary, it must be imported into my phone’s organizer… failure to do so I will be unavailable to meet… Ah… most importantly, WORK COMES FIRST… I have been known to cancel meets due to reasons of “I gotta work late”…

Meeting’s over… thank God…

The problem with problems...

When I see injustice I am annoyed… I can do nothing more than feel annoyed… BUT… I don’t keep my annoyance to myself… I voice it out… I write about it… I blog about it… that much I CAN do…

What a world we live in when we are afraid to voice out our opinions, our believes (foolish as they may seem)… without expression, without speech, we are no more nobler than mindless drones… we would only be equal to insects…

I know what I write cannot impact the present/current situation, but if what I write makes you ponder about the dire situation we’re in, then I have succeeded in my goals… you don’t have to be a genius to know the world’s in chaos and it’s decaying with every passing moment…

What worries me now is that we have began to accept, or believe that we are unable to alter, the situation we are in… we know what’s wrong, but we do nothing about it… “let it be”… “tidak apa”…

Why are we so passive?.. what can’t we be more proactive?.. the world won’t change if we wait and don’t change our behavior/habits… for the world to change we must first change… it isn’t enough for one or two people to change… we need to make a monumental change… we, if not as a whole, at least most, must change…

Our efforts to save the world is futile… our efforts to demand for a new government is futile… Why?.. because the majority aren’t doing anything about ‘anything’… it’s like saying “I want money but I won’t work for it” to your employer… Why then, or how then, can change happen when we don’t work towards it?..

And remember, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE!..

Start by acknowledging that there is a problem… stop acting like there’s nothing that can be done…

-something I wrote at work-

We owe our existence to the Creator… what are we for if not to serve the purpose of the Divine?.. We are merely humble servants, placed on this planet to worship and praise the All-Mighty…

I believe that we have forgotten that fact… I think we have forgotten how puny, how insignificant we are… we are, after all, pawns in a universal, colossal, game that serves to amuse our Creator…
It’s time we remind ourselves that we are disposable, so that we can learn to be humble again… after all, humility is a virtue most noble…

I am not the most modest of people, but I aspire to one day be modest, to be humble… I know that my entourage, my friends, do not speak out against my boastful behavior in retrospect to who my family members are… BUT… who cares!.. what my parents, my uncles and aunties are, they achieved it thru hard work…now that I’m working for my family, I see the hardship they go thru to be where they are today… I want to be like them… I’ve set short-term and long-term goals for myself… one day I hope people will respect me for WHO I AM, not because of whom I’m related to…

When I have made a mark on this world, when I die, I want people to remember me not as the son of so-and-so, but as a kind soul that will be dearly missed…

I am a creation of the All-Mighty, one of many, no different from others… I have the same potential you do, nothing more, nothing less, I have my niches, but so do you… I want to live as part of the brethren of humanity, and I’m sure one day that will be possible…

“There is strength in numbers, but there’s equal strength in each individuals”

Pen & Paper or the Keyboard?

I am writing because I am bored… Note this was actually hand written in the office and later retyped into my blog…

What I’d like to touch about is our (the human race) level of dependency on technology… I am guilty of having one of the illegible handwriting (or so I thought), but have had to (since working) revoke that statement…

Where I work I would have assumed that legible handwriting was of great importance, and in their defense the secretaries working here have really good handwriting, BUT most of the legal team have some of the most horrible handwriting I have ever seen… I find myself trying to analyze what’s written… sad in my opinion… this is a service line in which your services are of great importance, one error is all it takes to get your client convicted…

Ok… Enough about the dilemma with handwriting in my workplace… lets look at society in general… most of us are so use to using the keyboard that we have lost the ability to write anything decently… even when issuing cheques we opt for a printed version… handwriting has become, or better term for it “is considered”, OBSOLETE…

Time to take our your pen and paper (if you don’t have it, GO BUY SOME!), and start writing again… write anything… just write something…