Assignment Code: BSOG-173/ASST /TMA /July 2021-22

Course Code: BSOG-173

Assignment Name: Rethinking Development

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor

Total Marks: 100

Assignment-I

Answer the following in about 500 words each.

Q1. How the industrialization paved the way of modernization? Discuss. 20

Ans) Modernization is a multi-faceted social development process that alters a society's social, cultural, economic, and political order. It announces the end of a tradition. The pursuit of modernity began with the Enlightenment. Reason, empiricism, science, progress, freedom, universalism, and other Enlightenment philosophies are what the modernization process involves. Industrialization in Britain, as well as political upheavals in France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, gave birth to new concepts such as capitalism, citizenship, democracy, and development. All of these factors contributed to the modernization process' gradual progression.

Modernization, according to James O' Connell, is the transformation of a traditional or pre-technological culture into a society marked by machine technology, rational and secular views, and greatly varied social structures. Adoption of 'Western' political and economic institutions was the goal. "The process of social development in which less developed societies acquire features common to more developed societies; the process is stimulated by international, or intersocietal, communication," writes Daniel Lerner (1958). Modernization is a societal change process in which economic development is a key component. It refers to a social process that results in an environment with increasing output per person.

Lerner lists some traits of modern cultures that modernization was supposed to bring about:

1. a level of economic growth that is self-sustaining

2. Electoral democracy, or public participation in politics

3. A civilization based on rational and secular principles

4. Increased societal mobility, i.e. freedom of physical, social, and psychological movement

5. The emergence of a personality type, namely, a "mobile personality" marked by rationality, empathy, and other-directedness (orientation of a person who depends on constant approval of others for confirmation of his self-image).

6. The use of certain methods to achieve modernization.

Modernization, and by extension development, was a revolutionary process that transformed rural agrarian cultures into urban industrial cultures, according to Huntington's essay "The Change to Change: Modernization, Development, and Politics." Modernization, according to Alvin Toffler, is the transition from the "First Wave" (agricultural society) to the "Second Wave" (industrial era society). He also discusses how wealthy countries are transitioning from a "Second Wave" to a "Third Wave" (post-industrial) society. Modernization, as a systemic process, is the result of various forces and processes: economic (the global capitalist economy), political (the rise of the secular state and polity), social (class formation and advanced sexual and social division of labour), and cultural (the rise of the secular state and polity) (the transition from a religious to a secular culture).

The classical pioneers of sociology presented their views of social change against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution and industrialisation. Their works show that they were interested in the modernisation process. Marx discussed commodity production in capitalism as a source of oppression, exploitation, and alienation in his examination of modes of production. He believed that achieving socialism would be the pinnacle of progress. Division of labour and differentiation, according to Durkheim, would lead to society's progress. More functional dependency leads to organic solidarity and a higher level of modernity as difference increases. According to Max Weber, the advent of industrial society would lead to the rise of bureaucratic-rational society, with rationality as the means of societal advancement. Modernity rejects the transcendental reality in favour of science and rational social action calculation. Simmel looked at modernity from two perspectives: the city and the money economy. Modernity is felt in city life and in the spread of money. His modernization process comprises the creation of value, with money serving as the foundation for market development, modern economy, and, eventually, capitalist (modern) society.

Q2. Analyse the feminist critique of the policies of development. 20

Ans) Ecofeminism is another strain of the feminist movement that sees the link between women and development as unsatisfactory. According to this school of thinking, there are significant cultural and symbolic connections between exploitation or oppression of women and environment throughout human history. Ecofeminism arose in the 1970s as a counter-culture to the patriarchal notion that the gender divide often correlates to the divide between emotion and reason, nature, and civilisation, and even tradition and modernity. The ecofeminist disapproved of the first half of the pairings in this type of comparison. In other words, it denounced the patriarchal relationship between women and nature, which they labelled as humiliating. Not only patriarchy, but also communist parties, who, despite being anti-patriarchal, did not highlight this analogy as a point of contention.

The feminist critique of development arises from the discussion within ecofeminism between two distinct strands: essentialism and its rejection. Essentialists say that women are closer to nature than males because of their feminine essence. Women, according to essentialism, are a beacon of hope for the protection of nature. The reason is simple: women are more likely to have a maternal ethic of caring and protection because of their maternal instincts. However, other ecofeminists, such as Maria Mies, Bina Agarwal, and Vandana Shiva, oppose essentialism. They believe that women are more compatible with nature than men, but the reason for this is due to the social and historical construction of gender in a given culture. According to them, the division of labour and social role creation are at the heart of gendered environmental consciousness. For example, in most countries, women have traditionally done home activities such as collecting firewood, water, caring for animals, and cultivating orchards. As a result, they are exposed to nature more than men, resulting in their gradual closer to nature.

The anti-essentialists, like their post-colonial rivals, see development as a Western colonialism technique rooted in dominance over women and nature. According to Vandana Shiva, the last five decades of the twentieth century have been characterised by "badly directed progress." She feels that the unsustainable Western industrial paradigm has been transplanted to the South in the name of progress. Western multinational corporations, backed by governments of economically dominating nations, want to preserve the North's economic progress by transferring environmental costs to the Third World in a form of 'environmental apartheid.' Maria Mies, a German ecofeminist, has a greater understanding of this.

Mies claims that, following the subjection of nature and the colonisation of nations, imperial powers have turned to women's bodies as a "third colony." She considers development alternatives. Alternatives that may appeal to a woman's environmental consciousness. Reproductive activities, according to her alternative development model, would not only be shared by women and men, but also by other stakeholders such as nature, who have been left out of the development discourse. She also advocates overcoming the conflict between nature and labour, as well as prioritising local and regional economies above global markets in order to reclaim women's place in the development debate.

Assignment-II

Answer the following questions in about 250 words each.

Q3. What is the alternative of development? 10

Ans) Women finally became visible as development subjects during neoliberalism, but acknowledgment within social programmes remained elusive. Women faced wage discrimination and unequal working conditions in the workplace. And, at home, feeding the family, which had historically been a woman's responsibility, became increasingly difficult. Despite their inclusion in development strategies, this pointed to increased forms of patriarchal discrimination against women in both the public and private realms. This resulted in a vicious cycle of female poverty and feminisation of poverty.

As a result, a women's network called Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) criticised the narrow concept of development as economic growth during the second World Conference on Women in Nairobi in 1985. Instead, it claimed that materialism and indebtedness were to blame for the decline in women's living standards. "The socially responsible management and use of resources, the eradication of gender subordination and social inequity, and the organisational reform that can bring these about," DAWN described development. It argued that economic progress should be viewed as a vehicle for achieving holistic human development, rather than the other way around. As a result, post-colonial feminists criticised development strategies as a continuation of colonialism.

For example, in her 1997 book 'Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures,' Indian feminist Chandra Talpade Mohanty argues that homogenising 'women' into a single category reduces women to their gender category, ignoring other important aspects of their identity such as class and ethnicity. Ethnocentric universalist feminism looks at the cultural institutions of the South, such as its family systems, legal and economic apparatuses, using Western standards as a reference point. As a result, it seems to be 'underdeveloped' or 'developing.' Transcultural feminism, which is built on feminist solidarity and is neither imperialist nor racist, is the answer, according to Mohanty. Similarly, Gayatri Spivak, a postcolonial feminist, views development as a neo-colonial successor to imperialism's civilising purpose in her 1995 essay "A Critiques of Post-Colonial Reason."

Q4. Describe Rostow’s historical approach of development. 10

Ans) Slavery, feudalism, and capitalism are all stages of the economy, according to Karl Marx. In fact, these stages symbolise the shift of the economy from rural to industrial, as a result of technological advancement. Later, W.W. Rostow's thesis asserts that economic development must follow a historical evolutionary path from one stage to the next. The second form of the index technique is Walt W. Rostow's Theory of Stages of Growth. Rostow recognised various intermediary stages of growth inside the gap between the undeveloped and developed worlds in The Stages of Economic Growth: A Non-Communist Manifesto. In their progression from relatively poor agrarian civilizations to highly industrialised mass-consumption economies, all economies are seen to go through five stages of economic growth.

These stages are as follows:

1. Traditional civilizations have limited 'productive functions,' and output per capita is minimal and does not tend to rise due to science and technology's inaccessibility. The importance of family and clan affiliations is underlined here. The values are 'fatalistic,' and political authority is dispersed.

2. The formulation of a set of pre-conditions for economic 'take-off' is the second stage. Traditional institutions are beginning to shift during this moment of upheaval. Gradually, the economy shifts toward the application of contemporary science and technology.

3. The 'take-off' stage occurs when the former barriers to constant expansion are removed and growth becomes the economy's natural state.

4. 'Drive to maturity,' which is the stage during which the economy becomes more sophisticated, i.e. new industries emerge, reliance on imports decreases, and more exporting activities begin. Profit maximisation has become a must for survival.

5. Affluent population and durable and sophisticated consumer goods and services characterise this stage of high mass consumption. In this stage of society, all basic requirements are met, and more resources are allocated to social welfare and security. There is a rise in the welfare state.

Q5. Analyse the capability approach to human development. 10

Ans) Human beings, according to Amartya Sen's capacity approach, are the "means of all production" through which development can be achieved. It is not an increase in riches that will bring about development, but rather the use of people as a tool to that end. He believed that accumulating more wealth is merely a means to an end, and that it should be measured in terms of how it improves people's lives. For example, a country's national income may be great, but its citizens' well-being may be low. Human life should improve as a result of development. The capacity method, on the other hand, can be used to visualise human life. Three fundamental concepts underpin the capability approach to development: functioning, capability, and agency.

Human life's 'functionings,' according to the capability perspective, are 'a set of beings and doings.' As a result, the 'capacity to function' can be used to evaluate human existence. The term "functionings" relates to "being" and "doing" what people value. The freedom a person has to be or do what they value is referred to as capability. As a result, capability contributes to people's well-being. Individuals' ability to function can be used to measure quality of life. In assessing the quality of life, the capacity approach does not solely rely on income. The set of doings and beings, or the functioning, must be analysed under the capacity approach.

The ability to perform cherished activities can be used to measure life's richness. Because multiple functionings make up diverse aspects of life, a person is considered as having agency rather than being passive. The ability of a person to follow objectives that they value or have reason to value is referred to as agency. Individuals can choose their priorities and the tools to attain them as agents. However, because development decisions are determined by social groups rather than individuals, people must be informed and given the right to express their opinions and exert agency over development policy and implementation.

Assignment-III

Write a note on the following in about 100 words each.

Q6. Social environment 6

Ans) Biotic and abiotic aspects of human life are intertwined, just as societal structure and relationships shape the social environment. Cultural norms, values, and political, economic, and religious organisations are all part of the social environment. All of these institutions play an important role in the sociocultural environment, determining how environmental resources are used for the benefit and sustenance of society. Furthermore, the social environment can be defined as the society's overall structural organisation, which comprises diverse groups and institutions. The social environment is made up of major institutions and organisations in society that are concerned with such basic necessities of living.

A family is one of the fundamental institutions of social organisation in the socio-cultural environment, performing functions such as reproduction, socialisation, and the transmission of cultural tradition from one generation to the next, among others. Culture is a human-made component of the environment that also influences the social environment and social behaviour. The cultural environment is always influenced by social conventions, economic activity, political and religious institutions. Another key aspect that influences how resources are acquired and employed in economic activity is the economy. Environmental devastation and deterioration will result from the proper or wrong use or exploitation of natural resources.

Q7. Sectoral Development 6

Ans) The planning and implementation of development strategies for a specific sector of the economy, such as agriculture or manufacturing, is referred to as a sectoral development strategy. For example, shortly after independence, Indian policymakers considered creating industries. As a result, they devised strategies to produce technology or obtain it from other countries. The importance of technological education was emphasised. Many institutes and colleges were founded, either independently or in conjunction with other countries, including the United States of America, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

Heavy sectors such as textile, steel, and cement, on the other hand, have received funding. Later, when the country was confronted with a food crisis in the early 1960s, planners considered expanding the agricultural sector. As a result, numerous agricultural universities were established, assisting in the development of high-yielding crop varieties, insecticides and herbicides, and farm implements such as threshers. Extension services were made accessible to farmers in order to educate and encourage them to use modern agricultural technology, and loans were made available to farmers in large amounts. The fruits of these efforts can be seen in the shape of the green revolution. In terms of food, the country is now nearly self-sufficient.

Q8. HDI 6

Ans) The focus of development has gradually turned away from economic issues and toward individual and community concerns. Questions such – development for whom? – prompted such shifts. What is the price of development? The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) created the Human Development Index (HDI) in 1990, which was published in the Human Development Report, based on similar reasoning. Enlarging people's choices is one of the primary principles used in the creation of the Human Development Index.

These options include the desire to live a long life, obtain education, have a comfortable quality of living, be gainfully employed, have access to clean air, and the freedom to live in a respectable community. Furthermore, to make the index more complete, it incorporated a restricted number of economic indicators such as life expectancy, adult literacy rate, and Gross National Product (GNP) adjusted for Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). In addition to the foregoing, benchmarks were created to track a country's progress in terms of development. Last but not least, this index visualised and implemented a synthesis of economic and social instruments for pragmatically gauging the growth of distinct societies.

Q9. Welfare approach to development 6

Ans) Until the 1970s, development projects primarily addressed the needs of women in terms of their reproductive duties. As a result, the only issues that received any attention in development policies were maternal and child health, child care, and nutrition. Later, as the link between population increase and poverty became more widely accepted, family planning and population control became more significant in such policies. The premise was that broad economic methods geared toward growth and modernisation would progressively help the disadvantaged, including impoverished women. The premise that women's fortunes would improve indirectly as the economy improved or as their husband's economic conditions improved was disputed by feminist proponents of this strategy, who pointed out that women were still on the losing end of the equation. As a result, women were linked with the conventional and backward, while males marched towards the contemporary and progressive. Women were left out of economic growth and welfare schemes that aided men in their modernisation projects, such as the introduction of new agricultural methods and crash crops.

Q10. Emigration 6

Ans) The relocation or process of people leaving one country to live in another is known as emigration. People emigrate for a variety of reasons, including bettering their chances of finding work or enhancing their quality of life. Emigration has both beneficial and negative effects on the economy of the nations involved, depending on the current state of the economies. People leaving a country reduce the labour force and consumer spending of that country. If the labour force in the country they are leaving is oversaturated, this can have the positive impact of lowering unemployment rates. On the other side, emigrant-receiving countries tend to profit from more available labour, who also spend money and contribute to the economy. While emigration usually refers to people leaving a country, immigration refers to people arriving in a country from another country. In other terms, immigration is the effect of the receiving country's emigration.