DEVELOPMENT STUDIES



DEVELOPMENT STUDIESRelevance and challenges of using Modernization Theory in ensuring sustainable development in Tanzania.Seth E. Gwera2017DISCLAIMER: This document contains different sources of information of which many are cited, I do not take responsibility for those which are not. The document is prepared and shared for academic purposes and knowledge for those interested in the subject. It is made by one’s perspective and so It might contain errors, clarification is advised for readers and there is freedom to leave a comment in case of anything. According to E. Moore (1967), Modernization refers to total transition of traditional society to types of technology and associated social organization that is characterized by economically advanced and politically stable states of the West. Modernization theory is a theory that explains how the society changes from a traditional society to a modern form, by striving towards a modern society of such as Europe and USA. Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. Modernization refers to a model of a progressive transition from a 'pre-modern' or 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. The theory originated from the ideas of German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920), which provided the basis for the modernization paradigm developed by Harvard sociologist Talcott Parsons (1902-1979).Modernization theory looks at the internal factors of a country while assuming that with assistance, "traditional" countries can be brought to a more developed state in the same manner more developed countries have used in developing, the theory attempts to identify the social variables that contribute to social progress and development of societies and seeks to explain the process of social evolution. The theory stresses not only the process of change but also the responses to that change.It also looks at internal dynamics while referring to social and cultural structures and the adaptation of new technologies, the theory claims that traditional society will develop as they adopt more modern practices.J. Matunhu (2011) reasoned that “Modernization in Africa means following the development footsteps of Europe (largely the former colonizer of Africa) by creating efficient techniques of production such as agriculture modernization. In agriculture modernization process farmers are encourage to try new crops, new production methods, new marketing skills, introduction of hybrids, the green house technology, and genetically modified food, the use of artificial fertilizers, insecticides, tractors, and application of other scientific knowledge to replace the traditional one.”Modernization theory of development has been examined over Africa and to some extent it has proved to be relevant to the development of African countries since Africa can be facilitated through moving from a feudal to a capitalist society. The reliance on the noble families, as the case is feudal system, acts like a hindering factor to private investors. However a society based on capitalism, where the private sectors control investments, encourages more investments hence developmentBasing on the context of Tanzania’s social, political and economic setting lets evaluate the relevance and challenges of modernization theory in ensuring sustainable development. Starting with the relevance of Modernization theory:Through modernization of agriculture as a back bone for Africa development Tanzania has and can still achieve rapid development over time, taking for example the MKUKUTA strategy in 2000-2005 aiming at increasing rate of agricultural activities was good but it became efficient after the adaptation of modern agricultural strategies through the KILIMO KWANZA agricultural strategy in 2005-2012 which aimed at increasing the use of modern technology to the agricultural sector. Employment of tractors, artificial fertilizers, introduction of new crops and irrigation schemes, and modern methods of cultivation has brought about the shift from subsistence farming to surplus production. By Surplus production one can produce products enough to sustain them and have a surplus that can be taken to the market for sell.Impact:Economically; through improvement in agriculture Tanzania has boosted its economy through cultivation of cash crops which are sold within and outside the country through exportation. So far Tanzania has improved through agriculture whereas by the 2014 CIA word book report for Tanzania’s economic development listed agriculture as 24.1% of the GDP of Tanzania.Socially; the MKUKUTA and KILIMO KWANZA strategies brought about employment opportunities to individuals hence improvement of living standard of the people.Through reduction of over reliance in agricultural production and facilitation of industrial production. Looking up to the developed countries, their economy is mostly based and focused to industrial production. For Tanzania to experience further development there is a need to shift the focus on agriculture to industrialization, so far many economic strategies were based on improvement of agriculture and natural resources. Modernization theory for development by following the footsteps of the developed countries Tanzania should shift from agricultural production to Industrialization. So far this may be the current strategy under the fifth government famously articulated by the current president “Tanzania ya viwanda”.Impact:Economically; since the revenue earned from agriculture is quite minimal to stimulate rapid development, industrialization in other hand is the influences rapid development since industrial products are of much value, and hence fetches more returns, as compared to agricultural products.The modernization theory also advocates for the use of advanced technology rather than primitive technology. Apart from agriculture and industries, there is a need to improve technology in other sectors that are of big impact to the development of Tanzania. By improving means of transport and communication such as roads, railways, waterways and including their vessels that is vehicles, trains, ships and modern boats. This reduces time taken to move from one place to another, hence increasing the productivity of people and delivery of goods to the market. Tanzania so far is improving the transportation and communication means, for example the introduction of “Mwendo Kasi” buses have reduced at a big rate the problem of time consuming in moving from one place to another in Dar es salaam city hence boosting the efficiency of productivity among people.Impact:Economically; use of advanced technology simplifies the capacity of the work itself and also reduces the time used on the particular task as compared to the use of primitive technology hence facilitates to rapid technology.Socially; by using advanced technology it increases by its extent the level of social welfare, facilitates efficiency among individuals and societies all together.Tanzania needs to adopt market-oriented labour and shun the family/clan labour. The traditional African societies carried out task in a family/clan manner, where the members of the family or clan helped in doing a task for one another. Although this method is not costly, it has the negative of applying unskilled labour in sectors that may need people with experience and skills. Unskilled labour is less productive hence the job done is not to standard but the use of skilled labour ensures efficient productivity and improvement of standard of the task itself.Impact:Economically; people as a core factor to any country’s development require skills and profession to combat the changing environment. The use of skilled labour assures efficiency and productivity to the society and nation at large.Socially; influencing education and improvement of skills for the purpose of contributing to the development of the society and Nation, Tanzania has made a step so far on this taking for example the introduction of the Labour market under the Ministry of Labour.Tanzania’s development includes moving from culture-based society to a ruled-based/institution-based society, also involves a shift from a rural society setting to an urban setting. The urban setting/society is characterized with easy access to social amenities such as good schools, good hospitals, recreational centers, and electricity. Tanzania has done a lot of effort in changing the bases of the societies since Independence in Socialism rule to Capitalism, improvement of culture and norms, empowerment of women as opposed by the traditional cultures of Africa, improvement of rural areas by construction of infrastructure and improvement of social services in rural settlements. Hence the shift from traditional to modern societies has proven to be suitable for sustainable development.Impact:Socially; the improvement from cultural based society to institution based society and the shift from rural society setting to urban society setting has brought about order and peace among societies, increase in social welfare of the individuals, the introduction of better social services such as good schools, hospitals and supply of electricity is an indication for the improvement of the living standard of the people.Considering the Political setting of Tanzania to Modernization theory links modernization to democratization as adopted in Tanzania from developed countries. The political setting of Tanzania is stable referring to the multi-party system in Tanzania that gives a free choice of leadership to the people through democratic elections. The government through different strategies maintains peace and ensures political stability through adopting changes from the modern legal systems employed by the developed countries. From the negotiated constitution in 1961 with the British which is as the root of the current constitution because no new constitution was made in Tanzania but only amendments to the independence constitution to the last amendment in 1977, the political setting has been improving from time to time due to challenges of the opposition parties also women empowerment was one among the top achievements in politics in Tanzania.Apart from the explained ways that can improve development in Tanzania through modernization theory, there are challenges arising from employment of the modernization theory, let’s take a look at some of the challenges Tanzania has faced through modernization theory;Capital requirement or insufficient of capital, modernization theory is based on investments in different sectors and improvement of methods of production which requires funding, Tanzania is still a developing country not capable of raising sufficient funds to invest in modernization at once, this has been observed through different projects that are financed by foreign countries at the expense of Tanzania’s mineral resources, we see roads being built by the help of developed countries some times as loans and other times by their own target on the minerals of this country. Support on health care from developed countries is vital to the development of Tanzania health strategies but it comes with a cost, we might never know the real intentions of the help but so far nothing has been received for nothing.People’s perception and resistance to changes is another challenge faced in Tanzania in the shift from traditional to modern societies, basing on beliefs and culture of the people in Tanzania there is some sort of resistance to changes reasoning that it influences destruction of our culture and traditions and adaptation of the western culture which some of which is likely to be considered as bad cultural practices.Weak political or legal system as compared to the state of the people in Tanzania, the fight against Corruption (which is a major setback in Tanzania’s development) has been one of the major focus that by destruction of corruption may lead to ultimate development in Tanzania, but the fight has been weak since there are slight mistakes in the constitution and the legal system adopted from developed countries, legal systems from developed countries are in such manner due to their economic and social status, they are applicable to Tanzania only to some extent and not so far to some situation. The fight against corruption has lasted long enough due to weak adopted political settings like no legal authority is there to challenge the actions of the president and also president being entitled as the head of state empowered over all bodies of the state, this is to say that; if the president is corrupt then the fight against corruption will always be theoretical.Conclusion:Modernization theory is based on deterministic reason which states that within the linear model of socio-economic development, changes are initiated externally. The premise encourages the foreign power to prescribe the route to Africa’s development; also the theory is associated with development aid from the developed countries. However, this relation tended to beneficiate the metropolitan states more than the recipient countries (Africa).In modernization theory, development of Africa is as a responsibility of the metropolitan states; thus development strategies and finance are sent to Africa by the economically powerful states, by this articulation Tanzania will never reach the ultimate goal, modernization theory can only boost the development of Tanzania to the structure designed by the powerful states and not to the desires of Tanzania hence Tanzania has a need to formulate or adopt another theory for development which will be suitable purposeful for its sustainable development. REFERENCES:Clyff. 2014. How modernization Theory can Apply in African Development. retrieved Nov 13, 2016. 03:45 Pm.J. Matunhu. 2011. A Critique of modernization and dependency theories in Africa, African Journal of History and Culture Vol. 3(5).Samuel P. Huntington 1986. Political Order in Changing Societies. ................
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