28 THE MODERNIZATION SCHOOL stance, to facilitate job hunting, new institutions such as college placement offices and newspaper advertisements needed to be created to bring the family institution and the economic institution together. And in order to protect employees from the abuse of employers, new organizations such as labor unions and the Department of Labor have been created to perform the protection function. Nevertheless, the problem of integration may still not have been solved satisfactorily. First, there is the issue of values conflict. A new structure may have a set of values that are different from and in conflict with those of the old structure. New agencies such as the college job placement office, for example, stress affective-neutral social relationships, while the family emphasizes affective relationships. Children raised in the family context may find it difficult to adjust to the different values systems of the placement office and the workplace. Second, there is the issue of uneven development. Since institutions develop at different rates, there may be some that are not yet available although they are badly needed. For example, even though there is employer abuse, there may not be a trade union available to protect the interests of employees. According to Smelser^social disturbances_arejthe_result of lack 2ÍHl^SE3ÍÍ2n^ä5?.0JJK^^J'en':Íäíe£^ structures. These disturbances can take the form of peaceful agitation, political violence, nationalism, revolution, or guerrilla warfare. Those who are displaced by structural differentiation are most likely to participate in these social disturbances. For example, in the rural areas of the Third World, production for the world market tends to create groups of poverty-stricken peasants, displaced from their local communities. These groups often provide ready recruits for the Communist party. Using this framework of structural differentiation, problems of integration, and social disturbances, Smelser shows that modern-izationjs not necessarily a_smooth and harmonious .process. This framework serves to _draw attention to the exammation of the problems of integration and social disturbances that are so common in Third World countries. The Modernization Perspective 29 THE ECONOMIC APPROACH: ROSTOW'S STAGES OF ECONOMIC GROWTH E„ Rostow has written a classic work concerning the stages of economic growth; in a representative chapter, "The Take-Off into Self-Sustained Growth" (1964), he states thaUh£r^are_fWe^major stages of economic development, beginning with traditional society and ending with high mass-consumption society. In the middle, between these two poles of development, there is what Rostow calls the "takeoff stage." It is most likely that Rostow acquired insight concerning the takeoff stage from sitting on an airplane. At first, the airplane is stationary, then it begins to move slowly on the ground, and finally it takes off into the sky. Rostow sees Third World countries as exhibiting a similar pattern in their move toward development. At first, a Third World country is at the traditional stage, with lillle social change. Then it begins to change—the rise of new entrepreneurs, the expansion of markets, the development of new industries, and so on. Rostow calls this stage the "precondition for takeoff growth." This is only a precondition stage because, even though economic growth has begun to take place, there is also a decrease in death rate and an expansion of population size. There is little momentum for self-sustained economic growth because the larger population size has, to a certain extent, consumed all of the economic surplus. Thus Rostow argues that a stimulus |s needed in order to propel Third World countries beyond the precondition.stage. The stimu--*=■> lus can bea poUtkaljrevolution that restructures major institutions, a technological innovation such as the invention of the steam machine in the Industrial Revolution, or a favorable international environment with rising export demands and prices. Then, according to Rostow, after moving beyond the precondition stage, a countiy that wants to have self-sustained economic growth must have the following structure for takeoff: Capital and resources must be mobilized so as to raise the rate of productive investment to 10% of the national income, otherwise economic growth cannot overtake the rate of population growth. THE MODERNIZATION SCHOOL Ur i— ' y I How then can a nation obtain the needed capital and resources ' Li0-1" productive investment? According to Rostow, they can be obtained by the following means. First, productive investment can 4) come from income detained through jbonfiscatory and taxation' / devices. For example^jn Meiji Japan, productive investment was obtained through very heavy taxation of the peasantry in order to transfer economic resources from the countryside to the city. In socialist Russia, also, productive investment was obtained by confiscating the landlords' property and channeling it into urban 9| investment. Secondf productive investment ran come from such .-' institutions as banks, capital markets, governmentJ>onds, and the stock market, which serve to channel the nation's resources into f^ the economy. Third, productive investment can be obtained through "J foreign trade. Foreign earnings from exports can be used to finance the importation of foreign technology and equipment. Fourth, direct foreign capital investment such as building subways and opening mines can also provide productive investment for Third ... World countries. The critical factor, therefore, is to have 10% or more of .the nau^jorj^ljncornejüjb^^^ into theeconomy. -"Productive investment can start first in a leading manufacturing sector, and then can quickly spread to other sectors of the economy. -- Once economic growth has become an automatic process, the foui;th_stage-—the drive to maturity—is reached. This stage is soon followed by growth in employment opportunities, increase in national income, rise of consumer demands, and formation of a strong domestic market. Rostow labels this final stage the "high mass-consumption society." Based on his five-stage model of growth (traditional society, precondition for takeoff, takeoff, the drive to maturity, and high mass-consumption society), Rostow has found a possible solution for the promotion of Third World modernization. If the problem {facing Third World countries lies in their jack of productive investment, then the solution lies injliej^royision of aid to these countries—in the forms of capital, technology, and expertise. Concurring with Rostow, U.S. policymakers therefore view American aid as the best way to help Third World countries to modernize. Vie Modernization Perspective 31 Thus millions and millions of U.S. dollars are given each year to Third World countries to build up their infrastructures and manufacturing sectors, and hundreds of thousands of U.S. technicians are sent to help them reach the takeoff stage. THE POLITICAL APPROACH: COLEMAN'S DIFFERENTIATION-EQUALITY-CAPACITY MODEL To a certain extent, Coleman's political approach is similar to Smelser's sociological analysis, because both theorists start their discussions with the process of differentiation/Political modern- jization, in Colemarťs (1^6^}_forjiijulaHon£_rcfers to the process of (1) J differentiation of political structure and (2) secularization of polit- 1 ical culture (with the ethos of equality), which (3) enhance the ^capacity of a society's political system. First, Coleman stresses that political differentiation is the dominant empirical trend in the historical evolution of modern political systems. Like Smelser, Coleman refers to differentiation as the process of progressive separation andjspecialization of roles and institutional spheres in the political system. For example, political differentiation includes the separation of universalistic legal norms from religion, the_ separation of religion and ideology, and the separation between administrative structure and public political competition. Greater functional specialization, more structural complexity, and a higher degree of interdependence of political institutions are the products of the differentiation process. Second, Coleman argues thjy^uality^Jhe ethos ofjmodemity. <3™" • The politics of modernization is the quest for and the realization of equality. What then are the issues concerning equality? For Coleman, they include the notion of universal adult citizenship (distributive equality), the prevalence of universalistic legal norms in the government's relations with the citizenry (legal equality), the predominance of achievement criteria in Lhej^cjmitment and allocation of political and administrative rol^sj^twli^ofoppor-tunity), and popular involvement in the political system (equality of participation). 32 THE MODERNIZATION SCHOOL Third, Coleman asserts that the quest for differentiation and equality may iead t0 the growth of political capacity of the system in act, modernization is seen as the progressive acquisition of political capacity for the system. Political capacity is manifested in £,n increase in scope of the following political functions: scale of political community efficacy of the implementation of political decisions penetrative power of central governmental institutions comprehensiveness of the aggregation of interests by political associations institutionalization of political organization and procedure problem-solving capabilities ability to sustain new political demands and organization Finally, Coleman cautions that differentiation and demands for S^ärräSanjsmni^ |0 ihcal system. Like Smelser,' Colemänlňdľhis" discussion of political modernization by pointing out the critical "system development problems" or "crises" that a Third World nation-state paust cope with and surmount if it is to continue to modernize In ^viewing the literature on political modernization, Coleman mentions the following^ crises of modernization: i (1) the crisis of national identity during the transfer of loyalty from Primordial groups to the nation (2) the crisis of political legitimacyior the new state (3)^£ps of penetration (the difficulty in effecting policies throughout the society through the central government) wľ?S °f..P"!?dPaB°n when .there is a lack of participatory institutions to channel rising mass demands to the state *e CrÍSÍS oÜntegrMpjLofvarigus divisive political groups W the crisis of distribution that arises wheTihelSTte is unable to brinR vaľuUese,ľnTr Sr0Wth and dÍStrÍbute en0USh S°°ds'services' and values (o satisfy mass expectations F the eT : ,m0dermzati0n of * political system is measured ™ ** %tent to which it has successfully developed the capacities^ cope u ith these generic system-development problems. ' by to The Modernization Perspective 33 THEORETICAL ASSUMPTIONS AND METHODOLOGY As shown in the previous discussion, the modernization school represents a multidisciplinary ejFfort_tg; examine the prospects for Third World development. Each discipline contributes in its own way to identifying key issues concerning modernization. Thus sociologists focus upon the change of pattern variables and structural differentiation, economists stress the importance of speeding up productive investments, and political scientists highlight the need to enhance the capacity of the political system. Despite the school's multidisciplinary nature, however, researchers in the modernization school do share two sets of assumptions and methodology in their study of Third World development. Since many modernization theorists fail to spell out their assumptions and methodology explicitly, it may be fruitful to review them. The first set of assumptions shared by modernization researchers are certain concepts drawn from European evolutionary theory. According to the evolutionary theory, social change is unidirectional, progressive, and gradual, irreversibly moving societies from a primitive stage to an advanced stage, and making societies more like one another as they proceed along the path of evolution. Building upon such a premise, modernization researchers have implicitly formulated their theories with the following traits (see J^ntingt2nX976,p_, 30-31). (1) Modemizati^njsjjyj/zas^^ theory, for instance, distinguishes different phases of modernization through which all societies will travel. Societies obviously begin with the primitive, simple, undifferentiated traditional stage and end with the advanced, complex, differentiated modern stage. In this respect, Levy argues that societies can be compared in terms of the extent to which they have moved down the road from tradition to modernity. (2) Modernization is a hot7wgemzing_jgroccss. Modernization produces tendencies toward convergence among societies. As Levy (1967, p. 207) contends, "Äs time goes on, they and we will /"increasingly resemble one another .. . because the patterns of mod-1 ernization are such that the more highly modernized societies j become, the more they resemble one another." 34 THE MODERNIZATION SCHOOL (3) Modernization is a Eumpeqnizatign (or Americanization) process. In the modernization literature, there is an attitude of complacency toward Western Europe and the United States. These nations are viewed as having unmatched economic prosperity and democratic stability (Tipps 1976). And since they are the most advanced nations in the world, they have become the models the ]atecomers woulcMjke to emulate An this respect, modernization is simply a process of Europeanization or Americanization, and is often defined as such. For example, since Western Europe and the United States are highly industrialized and democratic, industrialization and democracy have become the trademarks of the mod- ; ernization perspective. í (4) Modernization is an ineversiblej^vocess. Once started, mod- \ ernization cannot be stopped. In other words, once Third World countries come into contact with the West, they will not be able to resist the impetus toward modernization. Although the rate of change will vary from one country to another, the direction of change will not. Thus Levy calls modernization a "universal social solvent" that dissolves the traditional traits of the Third World countries. (5) Modernizationjs^ajS£0^"£SSz'ue process. The agonies of modernization are many, but in the long run modernization is not only inevitable, but desirable. For Coleman, the modernized political system has a much better capacity to handle the functions of national identity, legitimacy, penetration, participation, and distribution than the traditional political system. (6) Finally, modernization is a lengthy process. It is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary change. It will take generations, or even centuries, to complete, and its profound impact will be felt only through time. The other set of assumptions shared by modernization researchers are drawn from functionalist theory, which emphasizes the interdependence of social institutions, the importance of pattern variables at the cultural level, and the built-in process of change through homcoslatic equilibrium. Influenced by these Parsonian ideas, modernization researchers have implicitly formulated the concept of modernization with the following traits. Vie Modernization Perspective 35 (l)_JvIo_dernization is á systematic process. The attributes of modernity form a consistent whole, thus appearing^ln clustersTather than in isolation (Hermassi 1978). Modernity involvSn^anges in 1 virtually all aspects of_sjDdaJJbjeJTajáQí^Jjl£.lydirig industrialization, X urbanization, mobilization, differentiation, secularization, partici-i pation, and centralization. (2) Modernization^ a transformative process. In order for a society to move into modernity, its lradiiiQnaLs-tnxctur.es_andjvalues im^st^iat^JUKpl.ac.eii,bjc^^e.LQ£mod^ti values. As Huntington (1976) points out, the modernization school considers "moder- --, nity" and "tradition" to be essentially) asymmetrical conceptsJAl-though the traits of modernity are clearly laid down, those of tradition are not. For the sake of convenience, everything that is not modern is labeled traditional. Consequently, tradition has a small role to play and has to be replaced, (or completely transformed) in the process of modernization. (3) Modernization is an immanent process,bDue to its systematic and transformative nature, modernization has built change_into the social system. Once a change has started in one sphere of activity, it will necessarily produce comparative changes in other spheres (Hermassi 1978). For example, once the family has begun the process of differentiation, other institutions—the economy, the mass media, the police, and so on—have to undergo the process of differentiation and integration, too. Due to this assumption of immanence, the modernization school tends to focus upon the internal sources of change in the Third World countries. In addition to sharing evolutionary and functionalist assumptions, members of the modernization school also adopt a similar methodological approach for their research. First, modernization researchers tend to anchor thejrdisaissicms at_a highly,general and Jab,sJractJej^dIŠlŕic^Their aim is to explain generalgatterns^uniyer-sal_trends, andcommon prospects for Third World development, they do not want to be preoccupied with unique cases and historically specific events. In order to draw high-level generalizations, modernization researchers rely upon Parsons's ideal-type construction (such as traditional societies versus modern societies) to summarize their key arguments. After that, the indexing of the 36 THE MODERNIZATION SCHOOL features of dichotomous ideal types becomes a major effort of students of the modernization school (see Table 2.1). With regard to units of analysis, Tipps (1976) points out that it is the] national territorial state that is of critical theoretical significance lo the modernization theorist, even if this does remain largely implicit. However it may be conceptualized, whether as industrialization or structural differentiation, each component of the modernization process is viewed as a source of change operated at the national level. Thus modernization theories are basically theories of transformation of nation-states. POLICY IMPLICATIONS Modernization theories are not just academic exercises, however. They were originally formulated in response to the new world leadership role that the United States took on after World Ä War II, and, as such, theyhaveirru£OTtantpolicy yrrglications^First, modernization theories help to.provide an_inir)hQtiustifícatÍQn-for the asymmetrical power relationship between "traditional" and "modern" societies (Tipps 1976). Since the United States is modern and advanced and the Third World is traditional and backwiird, the latter should look to the former for guidance. Second, modernization theories identify the threat of communism in the Third World as a modernization,problem. If Third World countries are to modernize, they should be moving along the path that the United States has traveled, and thus should move away from communism. To help accomplish this goal, modernization theories suggest economic development, the replacement of traditional values, and the institutionalization of democratic procedures. j2v Third, modernization theories help to legitimate the "meliorative foreign aid policy" of the United States (ChiroTl98Í7p^269; ^ A pier 1987, p. 23). If what is needed is more exposure to modern ? values andjTio^ejjrodjLictive investment, then the United States f can help by sending advisers, by encouraging American business ' to invest abroad, by making loans, and by rendering other kinds of -aid to Third World countries. Although not all modernization Tlie Modernization Perspective 37 theorists are necessarily apologists for American expansionism, as ÍTipps (1976, p. 72) remarks, there is "little in the modernization i literature that would seriously disturb the White House, Pentagon, or State Department policy makers." As will be discussed in the next chapter, these policy implications, as well as the school's theoretical assumptions and methodology, have shaped the contour of the empirical studies of the modernization school.