An essay plan including Modernisation and Dependency Theory, Neoliberalism and World System’s Theory, Bottom Billion and Neo-Modernisation theory, as well as contemporary trends such as war and conflict and environmental decline and case studies such as India, China, Afghanistan and Haiti.
Introduction
The view in the question is most closely associated with Dependency Theory which argued that poor countries would remain poor due to their exploitation through colonialism and then neo-colonialism.
However, the historical record of the last 200 years of industrial development clearly shows that the above view is overstated: most poor countries, including many ex-colonies, have got wealthier, and have done so through a number of different strategies. However, it is also true that despite enormous increases in wealth globally, many countries remain trapped in poverty.
In order to address the question above I will do the following:
Firstly I will review the various theories of development which have pointed to a number of different causes of and related solutions to poverty in order to demonstrate the overwhelming historical evidence against the view in the question.
Secondly, I will discuss how emergent global problems such as the spread of war, conflict and terrorism, increasing consumption and environmental decline could mean that those countries which today are still poor today might well remain poor in the future.
Numerous theories of development have pointed to a number of causal factors related to poverty – according to these theories if certain things happen then poor countries are likely to remain poor…
- Modernisation Theory – Poor countries remain poor because of their traditional values
- Dependency Theory – Poor countries remain poor because of the legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism
- World Systems Theory – Poor countries remain poor because of trade rules established by the WTO which works on behalf of rich countries and TNCs.
- Neoliberalism – Poor countries remain poor because of too much Official
- Development Aid and Corrupt governments
- People Centered Development – The question of whether poor countries are economically poor is irrelevant – there are many different paths to development and many different ways of measuring development
- Paul Collier’s Bottom Billion Theory – Poor countries remain poor because of Four traps – Poor governance, ethnic conflict, the resource curse and being landlocked with poor neighbours
- Hans Rosling and Jeffry Sachs – Poor countries remain poor because of the poverty trap and lack of Official Development aid from the west
Conversely, if certain things happen, then poor countries will not necessarily remain poor. Countries will develop if….
- (MT) Poor countries need to learn from the West, industrialise and progress through the five stages of growth
- (DT) Poor countries need to break free from Western Capitalism and isolate themselves through socialist models of development
- (WST) They position themselves as semi-periphery countries, manufacturing goods rather than exporting raw materials – e.g. The Philippines/India/ China
- (NL) Poor countries need to open up their markets through deregulation, privatisation and low taxation – e.g. Chile
- (PCD) There are diverse paths to development but all of them should respect the principles of equality, democracy and sustainability.
- (BB) We need a Marshal Aid plan for the Bottom Billion, countries need to sort out poor governance and we need fairer trade rules
- (Hans and Jeff) We still need massive aid injections, which need to be targeted initially on improving health, but also on women’s rights and education.
Case studies and global trends information which suggests poor countries will remain poor
- War and Conflict/ Terrorism
- Higher rates of consumption as countries develop
- Environmental challenges and the lack of global agreements on climate change
Increase Military Expenditure - The increasing power of TNCs and lack of fair trade rules
- The lack of commitment to giving official development aid by rich nations
- Haiti
- Iraq/ Syria
- Afghanistan
- Liberia
Case studies and global trends information which suggests poor countries will continue to develop
- The lowering of birth rates
- The increasing number of children in school
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- The UN’s sustainable development goals
- Continued Economic growth globally
- China
- India
- Brazil
- Nigeria
Conclusion and Analytical Points – Using the evidence above BUILD a conclusion
From the above evidence it is clear that not all countries have remained poor….
The most applicable theory which helps us explain underdevelopment today is ____________________ and following this theory poor countries are most likely to develop if….
However, some of the challenges in the world today suggest that some underdeveloped countries might remain poor in the future. For example…
On balance I feel that that while all countries will probably not remain poor (delete as appropriate) (1) the majority of poor countries will remain poor and only a few will develop / (2) most developing countries will develop but a few are likely to remain poor/ (3) add in an alternative closing sentence of your choice…
Global Development Revision Notes
If you like this sort of thing, then you might like my Global Development Revision Notes –
53 Pages of revision notes covering the following topics within global development:
- Globalisation
- Defining and measuring development
- Theories of development (Modernisation Theory etc)
- Aid, trade and development
- The role of organisations in development (TNCs etc)
- Industrialisation, urbanisation and development
- Employment, education and health as aspects of development
- Gender and development
- War, conflict and development
- Population growth and consumption
- The environment and sustainable development