Modernisation Theory

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Progression has been a defining feature of humanity through its evolution, it has continued to be a much discussed topic in academic, political and economic fields. Over the past seventy years the attention has turned to states that are regarded as third world, where the economic and standards of living is considered to be lower than developed nations such as Australia and Great Britain and how to encourage development within their systems (Evans & Thomas 2013). During the Cold War era from 1947 - 1989, two prominent ideologies were clashing in the form of two world powers, USA with liberalism and USSR with socialism; the campaign against socialism by the USA included pushing the heavily liberal modernisation theory as the superior instigator …show more content…

The ultimate goal of any society which follows Modernisation theory is become a first world state that is completely modernised (Armer & Katsillis 2001). Modernisation theorists rely on economic growth to drive social and political change, believing that “all good things go together (like economic growth, economic equality, political stability, democracy, national independence, and autonomy)” (Weber 2005, 155). Modernisation leaves no room for tradition, forcing traditional societies to adjust or slowly …show more content…

Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras all suffered from conflict as left wing guerrilla forces were assembled in reaction to the heavy handed military, causing a event nicknamed the Central American Crisis (Weeks 1986). It can be argued that the indiscriminate way that the USA supported political powers who identified as right wing even with knowledge of their human rights violations significantly contributed to the exodus that