Modernization theory

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A modernization theory is a theory that explains processes of modernization and causes for modernity. The term refers to a group of development theories from different scientific disciplines.

Assumptions and arguments

The basic interest of modernization theory concentrates on the question of how the decisive changes in “modernity” came about in Western societies in the 18th and 19th centuries. It assumes that the causes of modernity are not external (e.g. through mineral resources), but endogenous. It also assumes that the factors are interrelated and mutually dependent. Theories of modernization draw on a number of economic , social and historical disciplines. The basics of modernization theory can already be found in Tocqueville (1835/40), Emil Durkheim and Max Weber . Like today's proponents of theory, Max Weber saw developments in modern times not only as positive. Also Reinhart Koselleck's concept of saddle time is a great proximity to modernization theory assumptions.

In particular, the following theorems are carried out by modernization theory to explain change in modernity:

  • Differentiation theorem: Different social areas - such as law, politics, economics or religion - separate from one another and each follow their own logic. This makes the individual sub-areas more effective, and tensions - e.g. B. between religion and law - can be resolved peacefully. In contrast to traditional societies, where, for example, religion dominates everything, in differentiated societies the various areas must be considered and weighed against one another.
  • Mobilization theorem: Social development requires the mobilization of legitimacy , of social groups ( opportunity for social advancement), but also of resources (capital, purchasing power, natural resources, technology). Technical, organizational or cultural innovations are crucial for this development. They contribute to industrialization . This in turn leads to a general increase in prosperity, which enables education, hygiene, highly developed institutions such as universities, health care or social systems. Due to the social mobilization, which is caused by urbanization , among other things , class boundaries fall; the ideal of equality is becoming increasingly important.
  • Participation theorem: The higher the degree of differentiation of a society, the more mediation mechanisms between the individual parts of society are required. The greater education of the citizens, but above all their state-supporting prosperity, the increasing importance of the principle of equality and the questioning of traditional legitimacy (e.g. through origin) require a higher level of participation by everyone in the legitimation of central decisions. The rise in prosperity due to industrialization enables citizens to qualify for participation. Their material participation in state affairs (through taxes) strengthens their right of co-determination. However, the higher and expanded participation enables conflicts of interest to be reduced. This enables a peaceful expansion of the economy, democratic institutions such as schools or hospitals, etc.
  • Secularization theorem: As the differentiation makes other areas more important than religion, the influence of religion is relativized.
  • Theorem of institutionalization of conflicts: Structurally conditioned conflicts of interest are reduced in their overall societal disruptive value through the institutionalization of the forms of execution.

Modernization goes through various concrete phases of development, each of which creates preconditions for further development and builds on one another. So z. For example, urbanization provides the workforce necessary for industrialization in urban centers. As a result of the rise in prosperity resulting from industrialization, the level of education rises while inequality decreases.

At the core of modernization processes, Ronald Inglehart identifies a change in values from materialistic to post-materialistic values, which is caused by socio-economic progress. These post-materialistic values ​​or self-development values ​​include the emancipation from authorities and the striving for self-realization, freedom, quality of life and participation. Through the increasing development of self-development values, the universal human desire for autonomy can be fulfilled, so that the change in values ​​can be described as a development towards a more humanistic society. Self-development values, which, according to Inglehart, are essential for the effectiveness of a democracy, also manifest themselves in democratic institutions and promote the democratization of a society. However, democratic institutions have no significant influence on self-development values , so that, according to Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel , an effective democratization should rather be preceded by a change in values ​​as formal democratic institutions caused by modernization.

The predictions about future modernization in developing countries , implicitly or explicitly contained in these assumptions, are now considered to have failed. Therefore, at the end of the 20th century in (German) sociology, Ulrich Beck in particular brought the catchphrase of reflexive modernization into play. The second modern no longer has traditional society as its base and antagonist, but the developed modern society itself takes on these functions, insofar as, for example, it produces undesirable side-effects with environmental destruction and precarization , which must be remedied in a reflexive, modernizing process. Reflexive modernization is thought of as a fundamentally open process that does not run unilinearly in the direction of progress , but can also be contradictory and even run backwards.

criticism

Since modernization theory assumes a fundamental change in western societies up to the 19th century, it emphasizes the contrast between "modern" (with the attributes dynamic - rational - urban) and " traditional " (with the attributes static - irrational / fatalistic - agricultural) ) World.

Old versions of the modernization theory from the 1950s and 1960s understood development as an irreversible and targeted growth process and thus stood in opposition to cyclical notions of historical development. For this purpose, evolutionary universals are listed that are supposed to be characteristic for every development of society ( Talcott Parsons ). For several decades, however, proponents of modernization theory have rejected the charge of determinism and teleology.

Many of the criticisms of modernization theory are therefore directed at older research:

  • In many approaches, “tradition” and “modernity” are ideal-typical constructions that do not correspond to reality. Neither the traditional nor the modern societies correspond to one of these ideal types, but rather represent different combinations of traditional and modern elements. There were great differences between the developing countries, "the" Third World never existed. This heterogeneity requires different development strategies for the individual countries.
  • Normative criticism: This approach criticizes modernization theory with regard to whether the processes described are morally condemnable. The critics complain that modernization theorists see traditions as obstacles to the take-off of economic growth , even though modernization would bring about radical changes in “traditional” societies.
  • The idea of ​​the interdependence of the sub-processes of modernization also has an ideal-typical character.
  • The idea of ​​modernization as an inescapable, irreversible, progressive process that proceeds in the same way is a naturalization of social change based on the metaphor of development. This "social" evolutionism biological go theory of evolution ahead (see also: Comparison of socio-cultural evolution models ) . The many dictatorships of modernization and irrational reactions to the failure of development (cf. increasing fundamentalism in the Arab states) have shown that economic and social progress do not develop synchronously and certainly not necessarily linearly . The idea of ​​modernization as a catching-up development (compared to the pioneering countries such as the USA) contrasts with the experience that history does not repeat itself. The situation of the developing countries is very different from that of the European states of the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition, the gap between the richest and the poorest countries is widening. “Catching up” is not possible for ecological reasons, since the resource consumption per capita in the richest countries cannot be generalized.
  • Another aspect is the focus on the USA or the western industrialized countries as a model and goal to be achieved. This “ Eurocentrism ” does not allow any other way, and in the context of the political realities at that time (Cold War) the western system was presented as the only system to be strived for for the developing countries. Similarly, the “socialist” countries propagated their development model as generally binding.
  • Methodically, the theory is accused of relying too heavily on structures. Current forms of modernization theory have taken up this criticism and are also looking at the actors. Without the involvement of the actors, there would be an elementary lack of democracy . An example of this are modernization plans by the World Bank , which initiate decisions at government level without consulting the populations concerned. Modernization would therefore mostly be experienced as an attack on the way of life - however, parts of the population also identify with the modernizing forces. The modernization theories justify an undemocratic approach based on a blue print, since it is based on the supposed superiority of the knowledge of the experts.

Well-known representatives

Contributions to the field of modernization theories include a. from the following representatives:

See also

literature

  • Reinhart Koselleck: Introduction , in: Otto Brunner , Werner Conze , Reinhart Koselleck (Eds.), Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe , Vol. 1, Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1979, p. XV.
  • Johannes Berger : What does modernization theory really claim - and what is it only supposed to? In: Leviathan . Volume 24, No. 1, 1996, pp. 45-62, JSTOR 23983855 .
  • Monika E. Fischer: Space and Time. The forms of adult learning from the perspective of modernization theory (= basics of vocational and adult education. Volume 51). Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2007, ISBN 978-3-8340-0266-2 .
  • Peter Flora : Modernization Research. For the empirical analysis of social development (= studies on social science. Volume 20). Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1974, ISBN 3-531-11251-1 (also: Konstanz, University, dissertation, 1973).
  • Markus Holzinger: The theory of functional differentiation as an integrative program of a modern sociology? A response to Uwe Schimank's analytical model from a globally comparative perspective. In: Journal for Theoretical Sociology. No. 1, 2017, pp. 44–73. (ISSN 2195-0695).
  • Markus Holzinger: Martial violence and the dynamics of civil wars in the “peripheries”. About the myth of global modernity , in: Archive for Social History , 57, 2017. ISBN 978-3-8012-4245-9 . Pp. 347-364.
  • Markus Holzinger: Why the world society doesn't exist. Critical reflections on some empirical and epistemological problems in the theory of world society . In: Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie (KZSS) , May 2018, Volume 70, Issue 2. pp. 183–211.
  • Ronald Inglehart , Christian Welzel : Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK 2005, ISBN 978-0-521-84695-0 .
  • Detlef Pollack : Modernization Theory - revised: Draft of a theory of modern societies. In: Journal of Sociology . Volume 45, No. 4, 2016, pp. 219-240, doi: 10.1515 / zfsoz-2015-1013 .
  • Andreas Reckwitz : Modern. The struggle to open and close contingencies. In: Stephan Moebius , Andreas Reckwitz (eds.): Poststructuralist social sciences (= Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft. 1869). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 2008, ISBN 978-3-518-29469-7 , pp. 226-244.
  • Walt W. Rostow : The Stages of Economic Growth. A Non-Communist Manifesto. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1960, (2nd edition. Ibid. 1971, ISBN 0-521-09650-2 ; 2nd edition, reprinted. Ibid. 1987; 3rd edition. Ibid. 1990, ISBN 0-521-40070-8 ; 3rd edition, reprinted . ibid 1991).
  • Anja Rullmann: Modernization and Dependency. Paradigms of international communication research. In: Miriam Meckel , Markus Kriener (ed.): International communication. An introduction. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1996, ISBN 3-531-12681-4 , pp. 19-47.

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Thomas Mergel : Is there still progress? The modernization theory on the way to a theory of modernity. In: Thomas Mergel, Thomas Welskopp (Ed.): History between culture and society. Contributions to the theoretical debate (= Beck series. 1211). Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42011-7 , pp. 203-232.
  2. ↑ Detlef Pollack , Gergely Rosta: Religion in the Modern Age. An international comparison (= series "Religion and Modernity". Volume 1). Campus, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2015, ISBN 978-3-593-50175-8 , pp. 25–47; Thomas Mergel: Is there still progress? The modernization theory on the way to a theory of modernity. In: Thomas Mergel, Thomas Welskopp (Ed.): History between culture and society. Contributions to the theoretical debate (= Beck series. 1211). Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42011-7 , pp. 203-232; Wilhelm Hennis : Max Weber's question. Studies on the biography of the work. Mohr, Tübingen 1987, ISBN 3-16-345150-0 .
  3. ↑ Reinhart Koselleck: Introduction , in: Otto Brunner , Werner Conze , Reinhart Koselleck (ed.), Geschichtliche Grundbegriffe , Vol. 1, Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 1979, p. XV.
  4. ↑ Niklas Luhmann : Power in the system. Edited by André Kieserling . Suhrkamp, ​​Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-518-58573-3 .
  5. ^ Gabriel A. Almond , James S. Coleman (Eds.): The Politics of the Developing Areas. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1960.
  6. ^ Carles Boix: Democracy and Redistribution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2003, ISBN 0-521-82560-1 ; Seymour Martin Lipset : Political Man. The Social Bases of Politics. Doubleday, Garden City NY 1960.
  7. ↑ Detlef Pollack: Historical analysis instead of ideology criticism. A historical-critical discussion about the validity of the secularization theory. In: History and Society . Volume 37, No. 4, 2011, pp. 482-522, JSTOR 41330525 .
  8. ↑ Ronald Inglehart: The Silent Revolution: Changing Values ​​and Political Styles Among Western Publics . Princeton, New Jersey 1977, ISBN 978-0-691-61379-6 .
  9. ↑ Ronald Inglehart: Modernization and Post-Modernization: Cultural, Economic and Political Change in 43 Societies . Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt / Main 1998, ISBN 3-593-35750-X .
  10. ^ Ronald Inglehart, Christian Welzel: Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy The Human Development Sequence . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK 2005, ISBN 978-0-521-84695-0 .
  11. ↑ Arnd Hoffmann: Predictions . In: Stefan Jordan (Hrsg.): Lexikon Geschichtswwissenschaft. A hundred basic terms. Reclam, Stuttgart 2002, p. 315.
  12. ↑ Ulrich Beck: The age of side effects and the politicization of modernity. In: ders., Anthony Giddens , Scott Lash (Ed.): Reflexive Modernisierung. A controversy. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1996, pp. 19–112, ISBN 3-518-11705-X , here pp. 64–69 and others .
  13. ↑ How to get it z. B. also found in the structuralism of Raúl Prebisch .
  14. ^ Talcott Parsons : Evolutionary Universals of Society. In: Wolfgang Zapf (Ed.): Theories of social change. Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne et al. 1969, pp. 55-74; On the disappearance of indigenous societies as the price of progress, see John H. Bodley: The Path of Destruction. Tribal Peoples and Industrial Civilization. Trickster, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-923804-00-8 .
  15. ↑ Detlef Pollack : Modernization Theory - revised: Draft of a theory of modern societies. In: Journal of Sociology . Volume 45, No. 4, 2016, pp. 219-240, doi: 10.1515 / zfsoz-2015-1013 .
  16. ^ Anja Rullmann: Modernization and Dependency. Paradigms of international communication research. In: Miriam Meckel, Markus Kriener (ed.): International communication. An introduction. 1996, pp. 19–47, here pp. 28 ff.
  17. ↑ As an example: "Economic development of an underdeveloped people by themselves is not compatible with the maintenance of their traditional customs and mores. A break with the latter is a prerequisite to economic progress. What is needed is a revolution in the totality of social, cultural and religious institutions and habits, and thus in their psychological attitude, their philosophy and their way of life. What is, therefore, required amounts in reality to social disorganization. Unhappiness and discontentment in the sense of wanting more than is obtainable at any moment is to be generated. The suffering and dislocation that may be caused in the process may be objectionable, but it appears to be the price that has to be paid for economic development; the condition of economic progress. "- JL Sadie: The Social Anthropology of Economic Underdevelopment. In: The Economic Journal . Volume 70, No. 278, 1960, pp. 294-303, here p. 302, JSTOR 2228729 , quoted in: Gérald Berthoud: Market. In: Wolfgang Sachs (Ed.): The Development Dictionary. A Guide to Knowledge as Power. Zed Books, London et al. 1992, ISBN 1-85649-043-2 , pp. 70-87, quoted at pp. 72-73.
  18. ^ Cf. Condorcet : Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès historique de l'esprit humain (= GF Flammarion. Volume 484). Introduction, chronologie et bibliographie par Alain Pons. Flammarion, Paris 1988, ISBN 2-08-070484-2 (written 1794), and Gilbert Rist : The history of development. From Western Origins to Global Faith. 3. Edition. Zed Books, London et al. 2008, ISBN 978-1-84813-189-7 .
  19. ↑ See on Islamist fundamentalism as a reaction to the failure of the development Gilles Kepel : The Prophet and the Pharaoh. The Example of Egypt: The Development of Muslim Extremism. Piper, Munich et al. Piper 1995, ISBN 3-492-03786-0 .
  20. ↑ research overview at Daniel Ziblatt: How did Europe democratize? In: World Politics. Volume 58, No. 2, 2006, ISSN  0043-8871 , pp. 311-338, JSTOR 40060135 .
  21. ↑ On the ambivalence of people who were declared to be “underdeveloped” in relation to modernization, cf. Gustavo Esteva: Fiesta - beyond development, aid and politics. 2nd, expanded new edition. Brandes & Apsel et al., Frankfurt am Main et al. 1995, ISBN 3-86099-101-9 .
  22. ↑ Besides Condorcet, Auguste Comte is the ancestor of all modernization theorists . The social change created on the basis of scientific insight by experts is intended to replace or prevent the autonomous, unpredictable, possibly revolutionary change from below with Comte as with the modernization theorists. Cf. Auguste Comte: Speech about the spirit of positivism (= Philosophical Library . 468). Translated, introduced and edited by Iring Fetscher . Meiner, Hamburg 1994, ISBN 3-7873-1148-3 .