ABSTRACT
In the wake of the Second World War the first mainstream theories of development emanated from modernisation theory. Modernisation theory attempted to map the stages through which so-called ‘traditional’ or ‘backward’ societies would pass on a transitional path to development. The cornerstone of modernisation theory is born of a dualistic
a range of academic approaches to modernisation including sociological and psychological explanations, it is the economic version that is most noteworthy for its practical formulation and impact on the juxtaposed ‘undeveloped’ world. The most widely cited approach is W. W. Rostow’s non-communist manifesto, a five-stage model of economic growth that seeks to show how societies move from traditional to the preconditions for take-off, the road to maturity and the age of high mass consumption. This ‘theory’ must be understood within the political context of Rostow’s capacity as chief adviser on Vietnam to President Johnson, and the need to secure US security interests through the defeat of communism by a process of support and protection to ‘modernising’ societies in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East (Larrain, 1989). The politicisation of development should not be underestimated, from counteracting communism to the concerns about the links between poverty, terrorism and First World security. It is a one-directional, evolutionist, representation of ‘advancement’ and ‘maturity’ that has biological overtones.
