TAKEHOME

Your Name

Instructor Name

Course Number

Date

Aspects of Development

Answer 1

Economics is one of the major aspects of development, which is usually measured in terms of GDP/GNP. According to Beneria and Lourdes, crisis in development are deep-rooted in the discipline of economics, which have a strong impact on the path of development. Economic development and development are often used as synonymous. The economic development of society is concerned with income, consumption, savings and investment.

Human Development

Beneria, Lourdes et al, emphasize more on human development rather than economic development. Despite the fact that economic development is important for alleviating poverty and maintaining acceptable living standards. Author explains the perspective of human development by Amartya Sen. According to her, development is a process to create an encouraging environment for individuals and groups of people. This process helps them to grow at their full potential and lead productive and creative lives to meet their interests and needs.

Gender Economics

Gender Economics is another emerging concept in development studies. It is based on the theories of diversity and endorses the value of gender equality, predominantly in the field of creativity and innovation. The subject highlights the influence of gender on the economic decisions and consequently, how these decisions impact genders.

The three aspects of development i.e. human development, economics and gender economics are different from each other in their components but are interrelated concepts. Economic development is only possible if human capital grows, and for human capital development, gender economics plays a vital role. Both genders should be given equal opportunities, in order to achieve human and economic development.

Answer 2

Modernization theory assesses the path of development in the world and investigates the relationship between developing and developed countries as possibly equal countries at a different stage of development. The stance of modernization theory is that western countries are sophisticated and well-developed countries. There is practically no substitute to this way of development.

The supporters of development theory therefore insist the developing countries to collaborate with developed countries in order to reduce the gap between the two. Modernization theory put emphasis on developing countries to borrow the experience from developed countries. Fundamentally, the developing countries must follow blindly the way of developed western countries. It will bring their social, cultural, political and economic indicators towards prosperity.

In contrast to Modernization theory, Dependency theory highlights that relationships of developing with developed countries are based on dependence rather than cooperation. More precisely, the followers of Dependency theory present their stance that Western countries are no doubt more progressive and innovative than developing countries. The fact is that developing countries follow the Western developed countries not only because they believe that they are successfully developed, but also because they are forced to choose that path of development, just to avoid isolation from the developed world. Even the developing countries are bound by western intervention in their policy and politics.

After assessing the difference between the two theories, it is clear that modernization theory is more focused towards narrowing global equality because modernization theorists focus both on cooperation and competition. Modernization theory introduced a new terminology i.e. “Coopetition” which means the nations should compete for their advantages with cooperation. This will help in reducing global income inequalities. Dependency theory puts pressure on the countries which are already underdeveloped and do not allow them to compete with international market.

Answer 3

What is a commodity? explain through difference between use value and exchange value found in Marx. How does labor power turn into commodity under capitalism? How labor power is similar and different from other commodities.

Karl Marx’s definition of commodity defines that, a commodity is an object or a thing that satisfy the human wants. According to Marx, there are two aspects from which a commodity can be defined. One is Use-value and the other is Exchange-value. Use value is defined as the utility of a commodity a person gets by using that particular commodity.

The Use-value is constrained by the physical properties of the particular product, with no existence apart from that product. In the concept of Use-value, a commodity is independent of the amount of labor power essential to appropriate its potentials. Use-value is strictly attached with the consumption of the commodity.

The Exchange value exchange-value seems to be rather unintended and purely relative, and therefore an intrinsic value, i.e., an Exchange-value that is inseparably associated with and inherent in commodities. the Exchange of commodities is an act characterized as good as the use-value, provided that it is present in adequate quantity.

According to Marx, market is a combination of commodification and capitalism. Commodification refers to the commodities of the material world which are expressed in terms of money. Marx theory suggests that even a human (labor power) can be commodified. An example of labor power commodification is a villager who lost his livelihood and forced to work for monetary income. Similarly land and currency came in the marketplace to be traded for a price. When these possessions are traded as commodities, their labor and entrepreneurship experience an uncertain competition by the market beyond their control. According to Marx, under capitalism labor-power converts into a commodity which is bought and sold in the market. A worker sells his or her labor-power in the market of factors of production, in exchange for a salary or wage.

Answer 4

There are two key assumptions embodied in industrial development projects. Firstly, they assume that industrial development involves the displacement of agricultural society by an industrial civilization. In reference to development policy, this displacement is the shrinking of agrarian civilization with the development of industrial and service sector. It also refers to the transfer of agricultural labor and other raw material towards industrial sector, to lead the agriculture sector towards technical innovation. Both these important sectors, together will lead the country towards growth.

The second assumption behind industrialization is that there is a linear direction for development. For examples, the developing countries are catching up with the western developed countries. Because developing countries are more than fifty years behind the western countries. Joseph Stalin articulated that developing countries must cover up this distance otherwise they will be crushed by the west.

Decentralization process

Decentralization elaborates a universal national expansion of western world, assuming different patterns of development in different countries depending upon the social narratives built in their political system. Third world countries are keen to establish development states as centralized, corporatist or decentralized.

The national economic growth of development states depends up on circulation of money and the mobility of labor. The above two assumptions best support this phenomenon because displacement of agrarian civilization will help in labor mobility and money circulation. The second assumption of linear direction will help in choosing a path for economic development. Government revenues and individual and corporate taxes will be used for developmental projects like transport, buildings, and energy exploration. In this way development becomes a tool for states legitimacy.

Decolonization

Decolonization is a process of recovery from colonialism. Decolonization evolves across the two regions, the independence of Latin America (from Portugal and Spain) to the devise of South Africa. Despite of worldwide anti-colonial struggle, the decolonization process did not overcome the negative impacts of colonization. It just gives independence to several states but these states are still colonized in context of their culture and mentality.

Answer 5

War capitalism in the history is considered as a precondition for industrial revolution. It proved very helpful in creating international markets for cotton industry. War capitalism results in excessive supply of bounded labor and essential raw materials and accumulated much capital which helps in funding the newly established cotton industries. There was a great role played by slave trade. Slavery was considered as a capital-intensive business at the time of industrial revolution and the expansion of western Europe cotton agriculture largely depended on credit sources mostly by the money market of London, where credits were commonly secured on slaves as mortgages.

Cotton industry started flourishing in India in the times of modernization when Sir Francis Baring, became a director of the East India Company in 1779 at a time of excessive demand for Indian cotton cloth to be traded for slaves in Africa. The new markets for the trade of cotton emerges in India when European capitalists showed their interest to replace their own products with Indian manufactured cloths. Both the theories of modernization and dependence are incorporated in emergence of cotton industry in India. India in one way followed the trade development path of western Europe to establish international market for their cotton cloth and on the other hand they were forced to give importance to the cotton industry because Sir Francis Baring was the director of the East India Company.

An example from the reading “Empire of Cotton” is, the industrial revolution of north America and western Europe occurred because of peculiar relationships of most powerful states with the capital owners of dominated world economy. Most of the cotton for world market was exclusively grown by the slaves. Slavery, war-capitalism, have a strong relationship with economic expansion and empire. The capital expansion is mostly dependent up on slavery.