This chapter (chapter 6) brought some interesting ideas to the table as far as showing that poor developing countries do not necessarily need to, nor do they require the economic trappings of developed countries to reach a stable a population and increase the standard of living (example:Kerala)
What do you believe are they key aspects that must be emphasized in order for a poor country to undergo safe sustainable social modernization without becoming industrialized? Why is it difficult for many countries to acheive this?
You must submit your answer via the comment tab, no later than 12:00 a.m. Saturday December 12, 2008.
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18 comments:
I believe the key aspects that a poor country must undergo to achieve modernization are manditory education and at least an attept to move towards a unversal health care system. In Kerala, the government had a fairly equitable land distribution and had widespread healthcare avaliable to nearly everyone which gave nearly everyone an equal opportunity. Bringing people to the same level is one of the first steps toward modernization. Education is also an integral part of modernization because literacy and understanding of complex concepts can help lead to higher paying jobs and overall efficiency in the working world.
I think that in order for a country to become socially modernized without becoming industrialized, there needs to be a major emphasis on education. I know in the past blog we discussed the major importance of educaton, but it has a lot of validity in this particular argument. Essentially you would have to find a way to change the way in which people look at social issues that are prevalent in developing countries (poverty, overpopulation, misallocation of resources, etc.). You would have to find a way to encourage the culture to use family planning techniques and provide better helathcare. Also, the country must have something it can offer to sell on the national market in order to provide a national income. This doesn't necessarily mean that it would have to become industrialized, but it would have to be able to compete in the world economy. Afterall, a main reason why developing countries are in poverty is the fact that they either do not have natural resources that are profitable, or they simply do not know how to market them globally.
I'm not sure it's possible for a sovereign nation to become safe and socially modern without becoming industrialized. Industry is the backbone of all developed countries. Being socially modern on a global scale requires trade and business, neither of which exist in a nation free of industrialization. Sustainability is definitely possible though. I'm not saying that these countries should become industrialized, but rather that there is a large socioeconomic transition the world must go through before these countries can become modern in a manner that is not harmful to the planet. That is why this is such an enormous undertaking - you have to change the way everyone thinks. That's not something a United Nations resolution is going to fix. Seacrest out.
I think that in order for a poor country to undergo social modernization without becoming industrialized it needs to promote woman's rights in conjunction with education. Not just one or the other. Education is definitely a good thing, but if the opportunities for women stop there, then there is almost no point, unless you just want the woman to be able to count how many kids she has. Education is extremely important as long as it is an education that pays attention to social issues, otherwise there will be little point in having it. The government must also create social programs that will help the country in general, for example, better healthcare and family planning. These are all important, but they require the goodwill of all government officials and the people participating. This and a low budget stand in the way of it being done by many countries. Even counties invest against disease.
I think that social stability depends largely upon not absolute wealth, but relative wealth. Obviously there is something to be said for the fact that a baseline level of wealth is necessary for survival, comfort, etc. but most of people's dissatisfaction comes from comparison. When you make less than a dollar a day and the ruler of your country is selling your water to finance their fleet of private jets, your anger is understandable. Honestly I think if the disparity in poorer countries was to a large extent eliminated it would go a long way toward relieving social strains. However this alone is not the solution. Not only to people need to not blame "the rich leaders" for all of their ills, but they most also know what to do when they no longer have a scapegoat to pin everything on. Education is extremely important, and within education sustainability must be emphasized. If a country is using it's resources sustainably they will be able to continue use at that rate indefinitely, and this when couple with a small or negative population growth rate leads to a much greater prosperity for the whole.
I agree with the comment before when it says that a country doesn't need to become industrialized or have absolute wealth to become sustainable. You only need a certain base wealth that can create a steady economy within that country. The problem is that the economy is suffering so much in developing countries, that they can't even fund a simple healthcare system or agricultural system. Microlending is definitley something that could help create a sustainable economy because it's enough to help the poor and they can pay it back. Education is definitley important, especially when learning about the local economy and agricultural technology. Family planning is also important, because it could help control the population issue and give women more control over their own lives through basic health care, pre and post natal care, and access to contraceptions (including abortion). Helping the people with their population issues and helping them establish a concrete economic system is the best way to help them in order for them to help themselves.
I agree very much with dkeiter about the support for women's rights. In very poor countries where women are completely subjugated, solely education will not help. Women need to be educated because in the end it is women who are having the babies. With the empowerment of women can also come a decrease in unplanned pregnancies whether from lack of protection or even from rape. Family planning is also incredibly important because unplanned pregnancies are the easiest (relatively) problem to solve simply by pushing contraception and abortion options. It is easier to do this than to change people's mindsets about the number of kids they want to have. However, that also much come. Which is exactly why countries have a very difficult time becoming socially modern without becoming industrialized. Without wealth for the people it is difficult to encourage them to not have more kids or to educate them.
I believe that poor developing countries need to identify their most valuable resources and sell them for their full worth. Industrializing a country is the easiest way to create jobs and a money source but with that comes more pollution to the earth. A developing country could also recognize their potential tourism-wise. This would create a job market without using the fuel to transport resources. Educating a country can also teach them how to cultivate their farming abilities and the importance of not over-populating.
The most important thing is giving people the tools to let them take care of themselves and their families. In the end, governments will be corrupt somewhere, but peoples' number one concern will always be those who are closest to them. Any help that is sent over needs to be focused on the people, not reforming governments. This means focusing on education and healthcare for the population. It is especially important for the education of women; if you educate a woman, you educate a family. Knowledge can be more easily passed between generations that way, and progress overall can be made, even if children can't go to school all the time. Microloans have also been extremely successful, and don't take as many resources because most of the money invested comes back.
I think they just really need to commit to some policies to get them their, and have them be completely universal. People need to drastically change the birthrate and rethink how they live and what kind of jobs they are working. The entire country has to commit to socially modernizing through education, conservation, preservation, and evaluation.
(This is Spencer and Noams response, because Spencer has still not recieved the invite. MadGuitarist67@aol.com) I believe that the key aspects in moving towards social modernization are; establishing a sustainable healthcare system, providing education on new agricultural techniques, and controlling the birth rate. Finding a healthy population level is the first step in properly dividing resources. The reason why it is so difficult for many countries to acheive this is because they don't have funding, and they have over-population problems.
I agree with many of the ideas above, particularly about women having more opportunities, both in education and the work force. A country can reach social modernization through an emphasis on several aspects: education (so as to have intelligent officials and an able work force along with awareness of the benefits of sustainable development), health improvements (to help lower infant mortality), family planning (promotion of contraceptives and abortion counseling to help curb unplanned pregnancies), employment and income enhancement (to boost the economy). I think it is key that women be the focus in each of these areas, not only because they are the child-bearers who, if given greater opportunities and improved health care, would be the direct cause of lower fertility rates, but also because wherever there is greater equality between men and women there tends to be economic success. I also agree with Vorgon, in that there needs to be complete commitment toward social modernization by the whole country, rather than the responsibility falling only on the officials. In the case of Kerala, the region’s policies worked to better all of the above aspects- most effective being the commitment to education and health care. As a result, Kerala serves as an example for social modernization without industrialization. I think a reason so many nations have a difficult time doing this is because of location and their ability to use their resources in a way that is beneficial to their economy. For example, the region of Kerala doesn’t sound like it’s hurting for water, which, as we discussed in class, is an incredibly vital resource, without which a region will surely suffer.
Although it could be argued that industrialization is the main cause of most development, it's very possible that that doesn't need to be the case if there is an emphahsis placed on other aspects that will make that certian country successful, such as: education (as many people have pointed out), maybe more focus on farming (or whatever else make up most of the jobs in that country), and sanitation. I never thought about how social modernization of deveolping countries could bring about new opportunities and equality for women, but that definitely makes sense. Focusing on abundant resources in a nation could also help develop their country if they somehow use that to their advantage without creating an unsustainable environment where they take those resources from. It all comes down to funds though, as someone pointed out. A developing country often becomes developed when they are financed with the money and resources needed to jump start their economy, education, etc.
Dude, it going to be hard to post a comment by saturday december 12, 2008. Seeing as its 2009.
I belive that the only way that a developing country can even stand a chance in transforming into a sucessfull modernized country is education that can be achived by everybody. Not only do citizens need to have adiqute education, a country would also need some progression in healthcare, and finding new and healthier ways to cultivate food. Maintaining a stable population also plays a very important part in developing a stable environment for growth. finding various forms of contraceptive to suit different types of women will be very effective in maintaing a stable population in a developing country. education, adiqute health care and proper forms of contraceptives are key aspects that could put a developing country on the right path to modernization.
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