Introduction
The term development theory refers to a body of thought that explains how positive social change might be brought about in society. These theories combine insights from numerous fields of social sciences. In sociology, dependency theory is the central hypothesis classified under multiple development theories (Shi et al., 2019).
Discussion
Many critical principles in dependency theory may be traced back to structuralism thought. Although structuralists argue that the idea was impossible without a delinking strategy and strict import substitution industrialization, dependency thinking suggested that development was achievable even when linked to less privileged regions. However, this type of growth is viewed as “dependent development,” meaning it lacks a domestic dynamic within the developing country and is extremely sensitive to the economic fluctuations between the South and the West (Shi et al., 2019). Due to this structuring of the dependent development theory, it is commonly considered that sociologists and other social scientists tend to undervalue development theory.
Dependency theory (DT) usually considers governments in the developed world as the “fundamental cause” of underdevelopment. According to the theory, colonialism, in which strong nations like Britain colonized other parts of the world, caused developing countries to stay poor. For instance, India and several African nations seized political and economic control of these territories, which governed them for their gain (Shi et al., 2019). Additionally, the hypothesis argued the unequal connection between colonizers and colonized (or core and satellite) damaged developing countries so much that they were still dependent when the colonial powers left in the 1950s and 1960s (Shi et al., 2019). As a result of becoming significant exporters of relatively worthless primary commodities like tea, the people of the former colonies were forced to live in poverty.
However, socialists argue that nation-states no longer have the ability to rule over impoverished nations and that some former colonies have developed by turning into semi-peripheral nations or manufacturing hubs. Additionally, Socialists argue that DT is organized so rich ex-colonizer countries can fall down the development hierarchy because nation-states are no longer the most influential actors in the new global system dominated by World Trade Organizations (WTO) (Shi et al., 2019). These issues raised by socialists have led to the belief that development theory is undervalued.
Another issue that socialists have developed that leads to believe that development theory is undervalued in sociology is that DT sees industrialization as the key to developing countries’ growth, but it must be nationalized. These atrocities, which occurred even in socialist countries like Russia and China, highlight that national governments may be too big to adequately represent their constituent parts’ needs and preferences (Shi et al., 2019). Instead of development being imposed by nation-states, DT would rather see a wide variety of localized development decided by the people.
Conclusion
In general, development theory in sociology is underestimated because of the dependency hypothesis, which focuses on colonialism’s deleterious effect on the areas that served as its satellites in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Neocolonialism maintains the ex-colonial master rich and the ex-colonies poor. In order to progress, the ex-colonies must isolate themselves from the capitalist system, insulate themselves from the ‘free market,’ and develop internally through socialism. As a result, the sociological theory of development is discounted because there is evidence that the third countries and former colonies can grow within the framework of the present global capitalist system.
Reference
Shi, L., Han, L., Yang, F., & Gao, L. (2019). The evolution of sustainable development theory: Types, goals, and research prospects. Sustainability, 11(24), 7158. Web.