Origins of development: Colonialism and Decolonızation SOCI 220 October 6-13, 2009 (Chapter 2 in Development and Social Change)

What is development? In 19th cc Europe, development referred to both -- industrialization and growth, and -- regulation of disruptive effects of economic growth

What’s development? Economic growth (per capita national income) “Progress” Directional change -- from tradition towards secularism -- from rural to urban civilization -- from animal to machine power -- towards a Western life style

Historical context within which “development” emerged Colonialism: subjugation by physical and psychological force of one culture by another through military conquest European colonization of non-European regions (15th-20th centuries) Colonialism carried the idea of “development” to the relationship between European colonizers and their colonies What’s the difference between pre-modern colonization and empires, and 18th-19th cc colonization?

European colonization -- extraction of labor and resources -- genocide -- racism -- interpreting cultural and economic differences as European “superiority”  backwardness in the colonies, and “progress” in Europe -- colonial division of labor

The History of European Colonization Three phases 1- 1492-1776 2- 1776-1870 3- 1870-1914 Two types of colonies: -- Colonies of settlement -- Colonies of rule

First phase: *Spanish and Portuguese colonization of South America. Exploitation of silver and gold by using native labor *British settlement of North America *French settlement in Canada *Portuguese trading from South Asia and “East Indies” *The “triangular” trade among Europe, Africa and Americas

Second phase: “Free trade imperialism” by Britain Latin American societies gained independence from Spain and Portual by the 1820s But Britain controlled their foreign trade Also, British control of India was increasing

Third phase: The “New Imperialism” The Scramble for Africa Breakup of the Ottoman Empire British direct rule over India American “Open door” policy with China; opium wars, treaty ports US ends Spanish Empire in the western hemisphere in 1898

Features of European imperialism in the 19th century * European search for markets for their manufactured goods * European demand for raw materials and food from the colonies to sustain industrialization * European military superiority * Racism * Covered the entire world by 20th cc

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism 1- A global economy with a single division of labor  The colonial division of labor: European states  Colonies Manufactured goods Colonies  Europe Raw materials and food Industrialization   Primary commodity production

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism 2- Unequal exchange in trade Why? Unequal ecological exchange

Consequences of colonialism and imperialism 3- Reorganization/destruction of pre-colonial/pre-modern social systems -- Destruction/decline of subsistence economies -- Spread of capitalism -- Private property in land Creation of commercial agriculture, plantations New forms of labor (slavery, indentured servants, cash cropping) -- Destruction of local manufactures -- European cultural superiority: imposition of European languages; spread of Christianity; racist colonial rule (the “Bible-land exchange”) -- Population increase

4- “Progress” in Europe and North America, “backwardness” in the rest of the world  Development and underdevelopment

Decolonization Non-western colonized societies turned the European ideals of freedom, sovereignty and equal rights back on Europe Struggles for national liberation in Africa, the Americas and Asia Peak of decolonization: mid-20th cc  More than 100 new nation-states in the UN between 1945-1981 Any more colonies today?

Decolonization -- Armed struggles for independence -- Independence movements based on civil disobedience Political independence based on nation-state sovereignty Demands for economic independence

Decolonization and development The promise of decolonization: national sovereignty, citizenship, economic development Decolonization movements adopted the ideologies of European liberal-nationalism The United States set an exemplary model (but maybe not a realistic one) of national growth, and complementarity between rural and urban economies

“Dividing” the world US President Truman’s speech in 1949: “growth of underdeveloped areas” The world was thus divided into the “developed” and the “underdeveloped” Non-western world was defined in terms of what it lacked (high GNP, industrialization), rather than what it might have

“Dividing” the world First World Second World Third World (first used in 1952) Fourth World UN terminology: Developed countries Developing countries Least developed countries

Development project Both the US and “third world” nationalists shared the goal of economic sovereignty and development Decolonization: political sovereignty Development (economic growth and industrialization) : economic sovereignty

Development project -- A blueprint (plan) for newly independent nation-states -- A strategy for world order

Development project Two dimensions: -- Nation-states as the framework of development (example of African nation-states) -- Economic growth (measured in GNP/per person)

What was wrong with the Development Project? Were there other alternatives? Was economic growth measured as GNP/per capita always desirable? Was development inevitable? Were nation-states the only possible units?

How did the Development Project operate? National industrialization: -Replacement of agricultural societies with urban-industrial societies -Linear direction of development -Economic nationalism, and the “development state” - Both the US and the Soviet Bloc favored developmentalism

National industrialization Import substituting industrialization (ISI) model: -- Replacing industrial imports with domestically produced industrial goods -- Protecting domestic industries How to do that?

Consequences of national industrialization -- ideal of national, and internal growth -- internationalization of “national” economies through - foreign direct investment - foreign aid