Imperialism, Race and Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Imperialism, Race and Development - Essay Example It is precisely for such reasons that a quick recognition of the positive qualities, the psychological fundamentals, among the poor themselves is mandatory for poverty alleviation in particular. Most of the dependency theory writers hold the opinion that the "same process that brought development to the homelands of capitalism and to North America and Australasia simultaneously brought underdevelopment to the rest of the colonized world, trapping previously autonomous societies in poverty that was self-perpetuating because any significant profits made in them was extracted by Western firms or rulers". (Frank, 1978) "Underdevelopment evolve an important feature of dependency theory with the proposition that the end of colonialism was apparent rather than real, "decolonisation" being really a transition to "neocolonialism," in which foreign capital continued to exploit the local population but with protection from a local client-state rather than from European officials. This analysis was built upon in left-wing critiques of U.S. government policy as well as of transnational corporations, which covers around 1500-1840, and elsewhere elaborated from the classic "dependency" argument in his own "world system" framework. This, however, envisaged some scope for upward economic mobility for underdeveloped countries and provided some recognition of a reality that was then becoming increasingly clear: that industrialisation was underway in formerly "underdeveloped" countries of East Asia in the 1960s to 1980s, while there had also been long-term growth of manufacturing in certain other parts of the thi rd world, most notably Brazil". (2006b) In other words, the problem was not only about poverty and underdevelopment, but also as some Caribbean economists admitted, it was all about governance and the instigated psychology of dependence. Ramesh writes, "as these researchers noted, Lewis' 'strategies for industrialisation' went beyond pure economic factors and in fact required that the population develop 'drive and appropriate attitudes'. But such 'drives', social motivations and attitudes can only find sustaining viability in an accommodating, enhancing environment. If not, even when they appear they did not blossom. The recent history of the social and political life of the Caribbean has been one of grand promises and broken expectations, of broken spirits always fighting to heal and console themselves over and over again. And the psychological consequences have been quite debilitating". (Ramesh, 2000, p. 4) When it comes to social and political life, it is true that "Power and poverty are two of the most dominant issues in social science. They seem to occupy opposite ends in the continuum of human life. In fact, power, especially the lack of it, is inextricably linked to the condition and experience of poverty. Hence, it is useful to have both a macro view of development and as well a micro view of the poverty experience. The struggle of poor people to gain