Theories of Globalization

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When beginning any talk about economics, the developments of advanced societies, political theory, and its sociological implications, certain theories come up quite often. Many times they are criticized, other times they are elevated and praised. Three that seem to stand out the most are modernization theory, dependency theory, and globalization theory. I plan to examine what each theory is, how they compare, and really delve into global inequality in light of what is previously discussed. What is modernization theory? Is it truly as Eurocentric as people claim? According to Introduction to Sociology: 1st Candadian Edition “modernization theory suggested that societies moved through natural stages of development as they progressed towards …show more content…

This isn’t the only critique. Others argue that individual behavior in traditional societies is not rational by any means in regards to a person’s own interests with modernization. Rather it claims to change institutions whether individual or group like and the group attitudes to those of a materialist, capital, entrepreneurial worldview which smells heavily of Eurocentrism (admiremare, …show more content…

According to the Introduction to Sociology textbook, this theory “approaches global inequality by focusing less on dependent and core nations, and more on the international flows of capital investment and disinvestment in an increasingly integrated world market (Little, 2014).” In this theory we imagine the world as globally interconnected. The core of what this means is that things like goods and products, people, information, and money flow through the world on a global scale. This fact is nothing new. Think about it like this. Early humans migrated out of Africa into other terrains to colonize the world. However the circumstances through which these movements take place have been change through histories of technological development whether this be technology, sea travel, print work, media, trains, cars and trucks, airplanes, phones, and the world wide web. These things both constitute and enable technological development. Theorist tend to debate on when things reach the level at which things can be described as globalization. The line is very abstract. Roland Robertson notes the period in which the major globalization takes off is/was being 1880-1925 arguing that this period marks a structuring of the world as a whole. This theory accounts for a continual redistribution of wealth and poverty on a global scale. According to Introduction to Sociology, “Outsourcing shifts production to low-wage enclaves,