Social & Economic
Geography of the Third World
Theories of Development: Historical
Perspective; Colonialism
25/07/06
What does this map show?
It shows the total number of
shipping containers being loaded
and unloaded worldwide.
Of the 10 largest shipping container ports in the world : 7 are in
China and 9 are in Asia. Only one is in Europe.
U.S. Trade in billions and percent by
nation
Historical Context
Post WWII
– Emerging of new fields of development in late
1940s, 1950s
– the Great Depression and the monetary
devaluation
– World was divided into two political camps
(cold war: communism vs capitalism (19471991, iron curtain)
– US was dominant economically/politically
Post WWII World
Theories and Strategies
• Bretton Woods Conference
- representative of the countries of the world – main
concern was international economic development and
matters of international money and finance vital for
peace and prosperity – the creation of a favourable
international trading environment.
- Marshall Plan – aimed at the reconstruction of the
developed world.
- Formation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) &
World Bank
- Consolidation of the Soviet block which did not join the
economic order prescribed at Bretton Woods
Decolonisation
– Fight for independence and decolonization of
many countries
– Post WWII struggle to recover followed by
many colonies gaining their independence
– Period of war reparation as major powers
concentrated on their own recovery
– Recognition of the need for a holistic
approach for recovery and global economic
development.
Decolonisation
• Newly emerging independent countries, much
concern on;
- protection of independence
- economic development
- lack of resources
- low standard of living
- look up to the former coloniser for assistance in
development
- struggle under great pressure for development
and improvement of living standard.
Colonial World
Development Thinking
• Development strategies - to stimulate change
through various agendas and different
ideologies.
• Development thinking characterized by
evolutionary rather than revolutionary change.
• Four approaches to development thinking
Classical - traditional approach
Historical – empirical approach
Radical – political economy – dependence
approach
Alternative & bottom up approach
Classical-Traditional Approaches
Early views from the developed world
before 1914:
Eco. Growth = Growth of world trade
post 1945: liberating world trade = growth & dev.
• Developing World – Dualistic Structure
• Fundamental Dualism:
backward, barbarian, traditional, indigenous
and underdeveloped VS modern, developed &
western.
• The West was willing to assist the developing
world to modernize
Polarization
• Growth Poles – early stages of development
where investment concentrates on a particular
sector of the economy (ie. Mining), creating
demand for other sectors (related
manufacturing)
• ‘Chain of Disequilibria will lead to growth’
• Trickle Down Effect on the backward regions
without government intervention – letting the
market grow.
• Urban based industrial growth
• Later referred to as Polarization Reverse.
Modernization
• Diffusion of modernity
- diffusion downwards
- hierarchical diffusion
- contagious diffusion
• The unequal, uneven growth, modernization,
urban industrialization and diffusion of
innovations, hierarchical patterns and growth
poles – elements of the top-down paradigm of
development: TRICKLE DOWN EFFECTS
Diffusion of Modernization
Diffusion of ideas, products, technology, culture,
money and wealth, as well as individual
companies and branch plant companies.
They all spread but HOW they spread can
happen in different ways OR not at all if barriers
are set up.
Development Theory
• Rostow (1960s) five stages of development
offering a chance for all countries to develop.
• Stages: traditional society, pre-condition to take
off, take off, drive to maturity, mass production.
• Based on economic development,
manufacturing and consumption
• Largest barrier to development in low-income
nations was traditional cultural values,
particularly fatalistic beliefs
Critiques of Rostow’s Theory
• Developing countries have in fact not been seen
to pass through these stages.
• The stages fail to recognize the larger
geographic context within which developing
countries find themselves. (such as location,
culture, religion, traditions, resources available,
access to markets etc)
• With a change from traditional ways of thinking,
acting, and doing, a country would develop
Modernization Theory
• Societies must adopt modern social institutions
to develop.
• Modern institutions are based on:
– Differentiated, specialized professions
• (instead of jacks-of-all-trades)
– Impersonal rules (e.g. bureaucracy)
• (rather than personalized relationships)
– Scientific laws and rational logic
• (rather than religion or “superstition”)
– Formal organizations
• (rather than informal relationships)
Development and Modernization Theories
• Consensual goals for a “modern” nation; a
modern nation is an industrial nation
• National dev’t is linear, with a common path
through stages
• National dev’t requires nation building (political &
economic unification; reduction in cultural
variability)
• State has leading role in planning or fostering
market forces
• The North can help the South, especially in
meeting capital & technical skill shortages