Recent Development Project An A Developing Country From A Modernization Or Dependency Perspective

Recent Development Project an a Developing Country From a Modernization or Dependency Perspective

Identify, examine and critically evaluate a recent development project in a developing country from a modernization or dependency perspective. What are the implications?

Introduction:

Auguste Comte advanced the theory of social dynamics that proposed that the society progresses through a series of predictable stages based on development of human knowledge, Karl Marx examined social change in terms of revolutionary terms where change was brought about by the struggle for supremacy among economic classes.

Social change according to Rogers (1971) is the process in which alterations occur in the both the structure and functions of the social system, development on the other hand is the process by which societies and individuals experience change or modification in basic ideas and values that govern social behaviors and relationships. [1]

The aims of modernization are liberty, rationality and progress, modernization can be defined as the process in which a society moves from traditional ways of life to more advanced and modern ways of life, modernization can be viewed as a form of social change. [2]

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Recent Development Project an a Developing Country From a Modernization or Dependency Perspective.

Modernization theory is also known as the development theory whereby this theory depicts the roles played by the developed countries in order for the developing countries to be modernized and attain sustainable development. The modernization theory is in contrast with the dependency theory which states that the developed countries will exploit the developing countries and that the developed countries will continue to become richer while the developing will continue to be poorer. [3]

In this paper we will focus on a recent project that has caused social change in a developing country society, the Sondu Miriu project was initiated in 1999 in Kenya following a feasible study undertaken in 1985, the project was is a hydropower producing project and it is located in one of the most rural place in Kenya, since 1999 when work on the project started there has been various changes in the society living in this area, this paper will focus on these changes on a modernization perspective. [4]

IMPACTS OF THE PROJECT:

NEGATIVE:

Reallocation:

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The people living in the proposed location of the project will have to reallocate and this means that they will loose their agricultural land and also homesteads, despite compensation the community will still have to reallocate meaning that this will change their ways of life, the project is already in progress and therefore some people have lost their land and at the same time compensated.

Water and soil pollution:

Due to construction of the dam there has been water and soil pollution, there has been a loss of clean water but at the same time they have been provided with clean water for domestic use, previously they depended on the sondu Miriu river water for domestic use but now they have been provided with clean piped water for domestic use.

Decline in public safety:

The construction of a reservoir dam has brought up a hazard to the local community where there is a risk of people drowning also other hazard are evident from the construction of the dam such as water Bourne diseases bilharzias, elephantiasis, typhoid and cholera, however this problem has been resolved through the construction of a fence all round the dam to safeguard the local community from the hazard and also there has been the establishment of health centers that provide health care to the community.

Forest encroachment:

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Recent Development Project an a Developing Country From a Modernization or Dependency Perspective.

The construction of the dam has restricted access to the Kogutu forest by the local community, however this may be viewed as a positive impact in that now the forest will not face deforestation and therefore preserve the ecosystem of the area, also there has been plans to reforest the area. [5]

POSITIVE:

Fish farming:

Local area residence will benefit from a fishery project, the dam will be used to rear fish and therefore improve the local economy through fish farming, and also the residents will experience the change from their previous income generating activity which was farming to the new opportunity of fish farming.

Job creation:

Local residents have benefited from the project whereby they are offered jobs during construction, this have aided in the reduction of poverty in these areas whose residents are low

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income earners. Therefore in sociological terms the area has experienced a change in their social status whereby their levels of income will change.

Electrification:

The projects purpose is the provision of hydroelectric power, the area have never been electrified but due the project they now enjoy electricity services like other people in the country, the community will experience many changes that will result from electrification, electrification is a form of modernization whereby the community will now have access to information around the world through the media which is a form of modernization.

Road network:

The roads leading to the site of the project have been constructed and therefore the local community can now enjoy good transport and communication network, the road network will ease transportation of goods produced in these areas including fish and farm produce that will be transported to other areas.

Social amenities:

The community has benefited through the construction of new schools and hospitals in the area, this is one of the benefits the community has received as a result of the sondu Miriu project, and the communities can now access health services at low costs without having to travel for long distances.

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Recent Development Project an a Developing Country From a Modernization or Dependency Perspective.

Irrigation:

The reservoir dam has enabled the access to irrigation water, the community now benefits from the dam from irrigation whereby they can undertake their farming activities all round the year, this has boosted the production of farm produce in the area through irrigation compared to the previous times when the community had to plant their crop only during the rainy seasons. The community now therefore has changed from traditional ways of farming to more modern ways of farming which is irrigation.

Cultural impact:

The community has cultural values and believes of the sondu Miriu river, the community believes that once the Odino falls which is disturbed then the gods of Odino reacts with lightening and thunder which would kill all those who would it would find on its path, however the project managers have assured the local community that the Odino falls will not be disturbed and at the same time they have tried to enlighten the local community that such believes do not make any significance in the rational world. [6]

Social change and the Sondu Miriu project:

Social change is caused by advancement in science and technology, ideology, population, competition, physical environment and conflict, science and technology will cause change into society where the society discovers and adopts new and better ways of doing things, ideology is a complex believe system that explain social, political and economic arrangements and

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relationship example of an ideology is capitalism or even communism.

The physical environment will also cause social change in that the society individuals will adopt and adjust to the physical environment which will lead to social change, the population will cause social change whereby changes in the size, density and composition of the population will cause a change in the people’s social ways of life.

The Sondu Miriu project has caused many changes, one of the most evident social change is caused by the movement of people due to resettlement, this has changed the peoples life in that there has been changes in life in that they now have to live in new previously unoccupied areas, this movement has caused an increase need for social amenities such as schools and health centers.

The advancement in science and technology is also an evident source of change to the community, the community now has changed its lively hood from small scale farmers to large scale farmers due to availability of irrigation water from the dam, they also have engaged in other income generating activities such as fish farming which is done in the reservoir dam. There has been therefore a change in the income generating activities where in the past they only depended on agriculture but now they have diversified to modern ways of agriculture which is irrigation and also fishing.

There has also been significant changes in the societies believes and values, the community previously believed that the river had some bad omens and that if the falls in the river were disturbed the gods would strike, however this has all changed after the project was set, they now don’t believe in traditional ways and they now are rational in decision making whereby they do not make decisions according to values and believes but through rationality.

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Modernization and the Sondu Miriu Project:

Many theories have been developed to explain the modern world, Karl Marx described modernity as one synonymous with the emergence of capitalism and therefore there exist negative forms in the modern world which include alienation, class domination, false consciousness, pauperization and exploitation.

Marx Weber describe modernity as one that is characterized by rationality and formal organization and also the rise of the lion cage of rationality where people are imprisoned and are unable free themselves. Emile Durkheim describes modernity as one which is synonymous with the decline collective consciousness which is what he termed as organic solidarity. [7]

Gidden described the modern world society as a juggernaut which is an engine of enormous power, it threatens to run out of control, crashes those who resist and it can resist us, the juggernaut can be seen as an agent of power in that it has more power than the agent who steers it. [8]

According to Simmel (1978) in his book philosophy of money, modernity can be investigated in two places which include the city and the emergence of money, it is in the city where modernity is most concentrated and that money helps in the diffusion of modernity, he also says that money has a powerful effect on the modern society and that money has negative consequences which include alienation and the drive for profits. [9]

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The Sondu Miriu project according to Karl Marx has caused significant change in the society, there has been class domination in that people are not well compensated for their loss of land and also they are sometimes forcibly vacated from their ancestral land by the owners of the means of production. This is a negative effect of modernization according to Karl Marx whereby the capitalist form of society will be strengthened, the project has also caused the rise of false consciousness in that the society may assume that the project is for their own benefit but this is not true in that the project is owned by owners of production and their main aim is to maximize their profits.

However despite the critics of this project in reference to Karl Marx there has been a positive effect of this project, people can now enjoy electricity services from the hydroelectricity plant, irrigation and fisheries as a result of the project, this is positive development to the society, this can be termed as rationality where decisions to establish the project followed a scientific way of thinking. Rationality is a characteristic of the modern world according to Weber where rationality helps the society to adopt new effective and efficient ways of solving problems.

To Simmel (1978) the modernity is concentrated in the city, the project has led to the emergence of a city which is both a tourist and trade city in this area, this has helped the local residents to be modernized although there is the emergence of alienation and false consciousness within the city, the flow of money into this area has led to the increase diffusion of modernity in this area. [10]

To Gidden the modern world is a machine of enormous power which clashes those who resist and it threatens to run out of control, the society where the project is located seems to have

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experienced modernization, this has resulted to crashing those who resist to vacate their land for the construction purposes, this shows that the community does not benefit from modernity at all because of the negative impacts of the project. [11]

According to the modernization theory however it is evident that the developed countries will always help the developing countries to progress, Japan has funded the Sondu Miriu project from the first phase to date and this is a sign that the modernization theory well explains the modern world we live in today.

Conclusion:

The project has various advantages and disadvantages to the society, some of the disadvantages include eviction and the loss of domestic and agricultural land. There also other disadvantages that includes health hazards that are related to the construction of the dam example drowning and water borne diseases.

Changes in the society have been caused by the advancement in science and technology, these changes have occurred and they signify the process of modernization. People may benefit from the dam through irrigation, electricity, fisheries and the provision of employment but there will be other disadvantages associated with the project.

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Recent Development Project an a Developing Country From a Modernization or Dependency Perspective.

The society has modernized and at the same time it must experience the negative effects of modernization such as alienation, pauperization, living in the state of false consciousness and exploitation by owners of means of production, despite all these disadvantages the society will still highly gain from the project due to the process of modernization.

The Sondu Miriu project is one that has led to changes in many parts of the society; these changes have resulted to a change in the people’s ways of lives both economically and socially. People have now diversified their sources of income through irrigation and fish farming and therefore the project is beneficial to both the community and to the entire economy of Kenya.

References:

Anthony Giddens (2006) Sociology, Blackwell Publishing, UK

Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers, UK

Kengen (2007) Sondu Miriu: Project Features and Work Progress, retrieved on 22nd May, available at

http://www.kengen.co.ke/sondu/workprogress.htm

Sondu Miriu project impacts (2007) retrieved on 23rd May, available at http://www.irn.org/sondu miriu

Sondu Miriu project (2007) retrieved on 23rd May, available at www.jbic.go.jp/english/oec/befor e/2006/pdf/kenya.pdf

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Sondu Miriu project impacts to the environment (2007) retrieved on 23rd May, available at www

.corpwatch.org/article

Wikipedia the free encyclopedia (2007) Modernization and Dependency theory, retrieved on 27th May, available at

www.en.wikipedia.org/modernistiontheory

[1] Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers, UK

[2] Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers, UK

3] www.en.wikipedia.org/modernistiontheory

[4] Kengen (2007) Sondu Miriu: Project Features and Work Progress, retrieved on 22nd May, available at

http://www.kengen.co.ke/sondu/workprogress.htm

[5] Sondu Miriu project impacts to the environment (2007) retrieved on 23rd May, available at www.corpwatch.org/article

[6] Sondu Miriu project impacts to the environment (2007) retrieved on 23rd May, available at www.corpwatch.org/article

[7] Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers, UK

[8] Anthony Giddens (2006) Sociology, Blackwell Publishing, UK

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[9] Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers, UK

[10] Bruno Grancelli (1995) Social Change and Modernization, Walter de Gruyter publishers,

UK

[11] Anthony Giddens (2006) Sociology, Blackwell Publishing, UK

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