Geography Exam

Geography Exam

Section A

1.) In detail explain the 5 main development theories and how people centre development.

Introduction

Development theory is the geography of improving the living standards of communities and the economic perspective of countries. It is a practical look at the way countries and regions develop and how geographers can accelerate the process. It is important to consider scale in any examination off ‘development’. Development can be considered both a ‘goal’ and a ‘process’. Development theories have a focus on the post Second World War as this period saw the start of large scale development planning aimed at the global south. Northern countries were important in providing technical assistance to overcome perceived development ‘obstacles’ within southern countries. This essay will outline the five main development theories of development geography.

Modernization

Development generally means “change over time”. It has often been used to describe processes of becoming modern. This is why Modernization is the first key theory in development. Modern in this context is referred to as being like the West. In economic terms this means there is a focus on commercial rather than subsistence agriculture. In Social terms, there is an importance on class groups rather than family or tribal affiliation. In political terms the government should be a democratic one rather than tribal or religious forms of organisation. This outlook can be viewed as Eurocentric meaning the Western European experience is the only correct way to progress. Rostow’s theory on Modernization states that there are five stages of economic growth: Traditional, Preconditions for Take-off, Take-off, drive to Maturity and the Age of High Mass Consumption. While his focus was on economic growth and not on development, his stages are all seen within post-Second World War ideas about development. His theory highlights how society’s view on development has changed to the views of the West: ‘to make as much money as possible’.

Structuralism

Structuralism was one of the earliest theories, developed in the 1940’s. The aim was to promote development in Latin America. The idea was to look at the current reality of development in Latin America, before choosing a development policy, like the Northern-based models. In this case, Latin America needed protection from Northern competition rather than a focus on free trade policies. In other words, Latin America could not follow a European development path because the global context was very different. The focus of this theory was on the structures of the global economy and how these might help or hinder development attempts.

Dependency