THIRD WORLD DEVELOPMENT

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Why should we worry about the rapid rate of global population increase? How do city and rural living differ? How is the condition of the natural environment a social issue? Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis What portion of the world’s people live in absolute poverty? Why are some countries so rich and others so poor? Are rich nations making global poverty better or worse? How? Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis GLOBAL STRATIFICATION: AN OVERVIEW Global perspective Social stratification (inequality) is far greater than in the U.S. People in U.S. with income below the poverty line live far better than the majority of the people on the planet Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

A Word About Terminology Various models of classification “Three Worlds” Model “First World” – rich, industrial countries “Second World”-less industrialized, socialist “Third World”-non-industrialized, poor countries Two reasons model does not work today The Cold War ended Changes in Eastern Europe and Society Union collapse means there is no distinctive Second World Model inaccurately lumped together more than 100 countries as Third World Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Revised system of classification High-income countries The 64 richest nations with the highest overall standards of living Middle-income Countries The 73 nations with a standard of living about average for the world as a whole Low-income Countries The remaining 57 nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor Two advantages over “three worlds” model Focuses on economic development and does not lump together all lower-income nations Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

High-Income Countries First to develop during industrial revolution two centuries ago Enjoy over half the world’s income More income means control of world’s financial markets. Control of financial markets means control of other countries. Examples: United States, Western Europe, Japan, Australia, Canada, etc. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

High-Income Countries Significant cultural differences exist All produce enough economic goods to enable people to lead comfortable lives People enjoy 84% of the world’s total income Production is “capital intensive” Based on factories, big machinery, and advanced technology Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Middle-Income Countries Limited industrialization Many people are rural and engage in agricultural activities. A general lack of good education, medical care, and safe water Examples: Russia, Eastern European countries, Latin America, and some African countries Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Low-Income Countries Mostly poor, rural economies Agrarian, with some industry Life expectancy is very short. Examples: Africa, and much of Asia Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Global Wealth and Poverty Low-income nations are home to some rich and many poor Most people live with incomes of a few hundred dollars a year Burden of poverty in low-income countries is greater than among the U.S. poor Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Severity of Poverty Reason quality of life differs so much around the world Economic productivity is lowest in regions where population growth is the highest Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Relative Versus Absolute Poverty People in rich nations focus on relative poverty Some people lack resources that are taken for granted by others Exists in every society; rich and poor Absolute poverty is more important in the global perspective Life-threatening lack of resources Lack the nutrition necessary for health and long-term survival Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Global indicator of absolute poverty Median age of death Rich countries – most people die after 75 Poor countries Half of all deaths occur among children under age 10 Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis The Extent of Poverty Poverty is more widespread in poor countries Absolute poverty is greatest in Africa High child mortality Half the population is malnourished Worldwide 15% or 1 billion people suffer from chronic hunger 40,000 people per day die from hunger Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Explanations of Global Poverty Technology One-quarter of the people in low-income countries use human or animal power to farm land. Population growth Population for poor countries in Africa doubles every 25 years. Cultural patterns People resist innovations, accept slavery as a way of life. Social stratification Low-income countries distribute wealth very unequally. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Changing Terminology Old terminology Problems with old terminology First world–Industrial rich countries Second world–Less industrial socialist countries Third world–Non-industrial poor countries- Less developed countries Problems with old terminology After the Cold War, the second world no longer existed. Third World is too economically diverse to be meaningful. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Changing Terminology New terminology High-income–Nations with the highest standard of living Middle-income–Somewhat poorer nations with economic development typical for the world as a whole Low-income–Nations with lowest productivity and extensive poverty LDC- Less Developed Countries The extent of global inequality is much greater than these comparisons suggest. Well-off people in rich countries live “worlds apart” from the poorest people in low-income countries. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Third World nations still share a number of characteristics Third World nations still share a number of characteristics. All of them suffer from some aspects of political, economic, or social underdevelopment

Economic Underdevelopment At the individual level, economic underdevelopment connotes wide spread poverty, including unemployment, substandard housing, poor health conditions, inadequate nutrition. There is a tremendous gap between First and Third World countries. Americans earn 4-5 times as much as a Brazilian and Brazilians can earn as much as 9-10 times as much as a Nigerian

Factors effect a country’s income distribution Level of industrialization & economic development Historical pattern of land ownership Government policies

Social Underdevelopment Poverty and poor public policy has often affected social conditions, decreasing opportunities. One of the greatest challenges has been o improve the educational system Increased education literacy increases political participation &government accountability HDI’ s considered to be one of the best measurements of a nation's living standard HDI include: literacy, life expectancy, infancy mortality, life expectancy & income

Political Underdevelopment LDC’s first priority should be political stability- even if that initially might require military rule or an authoritarian government

Figure 12.1 Distribution of World Income Global income is very unequal, with the richest 20 percent of the world’s people earning 80 times as much as the poorest 20 percent. Sources: Calculated by the author based on U.N. Development Programme (2000) and World Bank (2001). Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Global Map 10.1 Income Inequality in Global Perspective Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Global Map 12.1 Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Global Stratification: Theoretical Analysis Two major explanations: Modernization theory Dependency theory Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Modernization Theory Historical perspective Cultural perspective Model of economic development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between societies Historical perspective Centuries ago, the entire world was poor. Exploration, trade, and the industrial revolution transformed Western Europe then North America. Colonialism Cultural perspective Weber: Protestant Reformation reshaped traditional Catholicism. Individualism replaced the traditional emphasis on family and community. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Modernization theory A model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between nations Structural-functional approach Historical perspective Theory proposes that it is affluence that demands explanation Industrialization’s productivity improved the living standards of even the poorest people Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Modernization Theory Developing nations had to acquire modern cultural values and create modern political and economic institutions

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis The Importance of Culture Tradition as barrier to economic development Technology opposed as a threat Family relationships Customs Religious beliefs Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

The Role of Rich Nations Controlling population Exporting birth control and educating people on its importance Increasing food production The use of new hybrid seeds, modern irrigation methods, the use of chemicals and pesticides Introducing industrial technology Machinery and information must be shared if shifts in economies are to happen. Providing foreign aid Money can be used for equipment necessary for change. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Critical Evaluation Modernization simply hasn’t happened in many nations. Fails to recognize how rich nations benefit from the status quo of poor nations Fails to see that international relations affect all nations Ethnocentric: It holds up the richest nations as the standard to judge other societies Blames global poverty on the poor societies Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Dependency Theory Historical perspective Importance of colonialism A model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones. Historical perspective People living in poor countries were better off in the past than they are now. Economic position of rich & poor are linked. Importance of colonialism Europeans colonized much of the west, south & east. African slave trade is the most brutal form of human exploitation. Neocolonialism is the “essence” of the modern capitalistic world economy. Sociology, 12th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2008 Prentice Hall, a division of Pearson Education. All rights reserved.

Dependency Theory Third World countries have to borrow financial capital and purchase advanced technology from the developed world, thereby making them dependent on external economic forces beyond their control, weakening development

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Dependency Theory Dependency Theory A model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of the historical exploitation of poor nations by rich ones Social-conflict approach Historical Perspective People living in poor countries are better off economically Based on the idea that the economic positions of rich and poor nations are linked Prosperity of developed countries come at the expense of less developed ones Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Human community must address crucial questions Distribution of resources Within societies Around the globe Though economic development raises living standards, it strains the natural environment Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.

Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Gulf that separates world’s richest and poorest Puts everyone at risk of war and terrorism Poorest people challenge social arrangements that threaten their existence Planetary peace can be achieved Ensure that all people enjoy significant dignity and security Society: The Basics, 10th Edition by John Macionis Copyright  2009 by Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.