Marxist, Bourgeois and

Dependency theories of
development

Marxs stages of
development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Primitive Communalism
Feudalism
Capitalism
Socialism
Communism

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Primitive Communalism

Productive forces were crude, undeveloped.

Ownership of means of production were
communal
Relations of production were collective
Labour productivity was low, no surplus,
equal distribution of products.
No classes and therefore no states. People
organized in clan or family.
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Feudalism

Based on class antagonism

Consisted of landowners and the serfs.
Landlords exploited the serfs and serfs
struggled to free themselves
Contradiction and class struggle led to
disintegration of feudalism.

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Capitalism

Emerged as a result of industrial revolution in

Europe
Emergence of commodity production
Relations of production are exploitative:
capitalists own means of production and
exploited workers.
Expanded through export of capital
The contradiction between capital and labour
leads to the downfall of capitalism
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Socialism

Established after the overthrow of capitalist

system
Establishes the dictatorship of the working
class
All means of production are in the hands of
the working class
Relations of production are non-explotative

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Communism

Supposed to the highest level of social

development
Absence of exploitative relations of
production
In a communist economy, investment and
consumption are primarily determined by the
national plan.

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From Marxist perspective development is

seen as the unfolding in human history of the
progressive emancipation of peoples and
nations from the control of nature and from
the control of other people and nations.

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Weaknesses of Marxist
Theory

Marxist theory is often criticized by bourgeois

theorists for concentrating too much on
conflict-class struggle and change and too
little on what produces stability in society
The theory is descriptive and predictive of
social life
The universality of the theory makes it difficult
to be put in practice in different third world
countries. It does not highlight the unique and
varying situation of the developing countries.
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Bourgeois Theory:
Rostows and Nurkses
Theories

Rostows Stages of Growth

Theory
The model claims that economic modernization occurs in five
basic stages, in changeable time period.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Traditional society
Preconditions for take-off
Take-off
Drive to maturity
Age of high mass consumption
Rostow argues this is a universal historical categorization of
stages of growth that all societies necessarily go through with
similar experiences.

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Traditional Society

Output consumed by producers rather than

traded
Trade carried out by barter; goods exchanged for
other goods

Agriculture dominating sector; laborintensive

Low level of science and technology limited
production
Family and clan/tribal connections played a
large role in social organization. The unit of
production was the family
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Pre-conditions for Take-off

(Transitional Stage)

Emergence of entrepreneurial and managerial class

Development of a financial sector and increase in

investment

Infrastructural development

Modern business using new and sophisticated methods of

production

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Take-off into sustained

growth
Increasing industrialization, production and employment
switches from agriculture to manufacturing

Evolution of new political and social institutions supporting

the industrialization

Growth becomes self-sustaining as investment leads to

increasing incomes in turn generating more savings to
finance further investment.

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Drive to Maturity

The economy starts spreading into new areas

Technological innovation provides expanded range of

investment opportunities.

The economy starts producing a wide range of goods

and services and there is less reliance on imports

This diversity leads to greatly reduced rates of poverty

and rising standards of living, as the society no longer
needs to sacrifice its comfort in order to make certain
sectors more productive.
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Age of High Mass Consumption

The economy is oriented towards mass

consumption
There is increased productivity to satisfy
societys demands. The economy produces
goods and services which people desire.
Society is now devoted to the pleasures of
consumer choice, the pursuit of security, and
the enjoyments of the arts and leisure

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Weaknesses of the Stages of Growth

Theory
by Rostow

Attempts to universalize the experience of a particular country

(Britain) in a specific period of time (16th to 20th century)

External factors such as colonization / imperialism can hinder the

process of development in the colonized nations

Descriptive; no analysis of how the pre-conditions for take-off are

to emerge

Empirically not supported

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Nurkses Vicious circle of

Poverty

According to Nurkse a society is poor

because it is poor.
A society with low income has low levels of
savings and consumption.
The low levels of savings means low
investment while the low levels of
consumption means not enough market to
induce investment even if capital for
investment was available
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This low investment in turn means little ability

of the society to expand its productive
capacity or transform the quality of the
productive forces as a whole.
This finally leads to a continuation of low
incomes in the economy and then the circle
begins again.

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Nurkses Vicious circle of Poverty

Low Income

Low savings
Inability to produce
Lack of capacity

Low consumption

Low investment
Lack of markets

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Nurkses Theory of balanced growth

Export pessimism: exports cannot be depended upon as the

source of growth

Massive injection of new technology, machines, production

processes is the key to development

Hence need for domestic industrialization

Large scale industrial investments (i.e. expanded supply) would

also generate large scale demand, hence leading to:
BALANCED GROWTH

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Weaknesses of Nurkses
theory

Like that of Rostow, Nurkses theory only

succeeds in indicating the extent of
poverty/backwardness of the underdeveloped
countries it does not contribute much to the
understanding of the causes of poverty

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Dependency Theory

Features of the Dependency

Theorization

The existence of a Capitalist World System

In this capitalist system countries are divided into
Metropoles and Satellites (Frank) or Core and Semiperiphery and Periphery (Wallerstein)
Core Countries/ are the Rich Industrialized Countries of
the West, whose GDP and per capita income exceed 7%
per annum
Peripheries are those countries whose annual rate of
growth is less than 5-7% and are primary producers of
rawmaterials.
Semi-peripheries: Newly industrialized countries, China,
Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea (Asian Tigers), Cuba,
Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Indonesia, Egypt, Portugal,
Spain and Italy.
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Features contd

The capitist system operates where

peripheries/Satellites provide raw material for
the Core/Metrpole countries who
manufacture and sells it. Thus the basis of
dependency and Underdevelopment

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How Dependency Occurs

Emergence of Europes drive to capital accumulation,

1500
Led to the colonization of Latin American, Caribbean,
African and East Asian States.
The Extraction of Wealth (Natural Resources and
Capital) from the colonies resulting in stagnation
Subsequent transfer of wealth to Europe facilitating
industrialization and development (Walter Rodney: How
Europe Underdeveloped Africa)
The persistent of culture of dependency even after
colonialism. Third World-Producers/ First World
Manufacturers

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Andre Gunder Frank

Ideas: Monopoly control of trade. Unequal exchange

between Metropole and Satellite resulted in the
extraction of Surplus Value (Potter and Binns et al,
1999).
Development and Underdevelopment are opposite
sides of the coin: the development of the
industrialized world was and is made possible only
by the corresponding underdevelopment of the Third
World (Randall and Theobald, 1985, p. 107)

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Immanuel Wallerstien

Ideas: The existence of a total system or network

driven by the endless accumulation of profits
the perpetual and widening inequity among states
is explained by capitalism and the international
division of labour and the production (Kegley 2006,
141)
The International division of labour leads to the
development of countries as core, periphery and
semi-periphery

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Assumption of Dependency

In general, the theory of dependency holds that

both political and economic dependency are
inversely and significantly related to economic
prosperity, that is the more dependent countries are
also less prosperous (Craig, 1996 thesis)
In order for these backward countries to develop
they must disassociate themselves from all relations
with the First World.

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Weaknesses of Dependency
Theory

See economic growth as the main component of

development
So much stress was put on the external
obstacles to development.
The ultimate causes of under development are
not identified apart from the fact that they
originate from the center.

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Impractical ideas: If Third World Countries totally

dissociate themselves from First they will not gain
development. The relationship between Third
world and First World is not dependent but
interdependent.
Neglects the role of contemporary internal political
and economic conditions.
Does not explain the relevance of the Situation of
the New International Division of Labour.

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Summary

The Marxists attempt to explain the causes of

underdevelopment but do not come up with substantive
suggestions of eliminating underdevelopment.
The Bourgeois theorists successfully depict the existing
situation of underdevelopment in developing countries. They
do not give reasons for the emergence of underdevelopment
nor its persistence.
The Dependency theorists also contribute significantly to the
general debate of underdevelopment, particularly the external
exploitative relations between developing countries and the
developed countries. They neglect the role of internal political
and economic conditions.
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