Theories of Development: Marxism, Dependency Theory, and World System Theory

Question 1

Who proposed this theory?

Answer 1

Andre Gunder Frank (1969)

Question 2

What does Dependency theory attempt to explain?

Answer 2

Why countries are less developed than others.

Question 3

What two names did Frank allocate to different types of countries, give their definitions with an example?

Answer 3

1) Metropolis
- A developed country (America)
2) Satellites
- An underdeveloped country (Kenya)

Question 4

What is the perceived relationship between these two types of countries?

Answer 4

Metropolises actively try to keep satellites underdeveloped to continue to exploit them and reap the benefits.

Question 5

What are some defining factors for metropolises and what they do?

Answer 5

• Developed countries
• Colonial powers (e.g. Britain and the British Empire)
• Extract surplus value from satellites
• Economic growth through exploitation
• TNCs invest in satellites and get high returns

Question 6

What are some defining factors for satellites and what they do?

Answer 6

• Underdeveloped countries
• Dominated by metropolis due to weaker economy or military
• Wealth is extracted from them
• Kept underdeveloped via trade with metropolises
• Foreign investment transfers wealth from the rich to the poor

Question 7

Briefly describe what Frank (1969) meant by a ‘chain of dependency’.

Answer 7

A chain that runs from metropolises to merchants in satellites in which satellites are dependent on metropolises due to the surplus value they take from their countries leaving them in poverty and fighting to pay off debts from IMF, etc.

Question 8

Define ‘colonialism’.

Answer 8

Gaining full control of a country that is often taken by force to exploit.

Question 9

Define ‘imperialism’.

Answer 9

Extended a countries influence to others through colonisation or military force.

Question 10

What did Frank (1969) suggest are the 3 stages of underdevelopment in the growth of capitalism?

Answer 10

1) Mercantile Capitalism
2) Colonialism and Imperialism
3) Neo-Colonialism

Question 11

Describe stage 1 of underdevelopment.

Answer 11

1) Mercantile Capitalism
- European merchants establish trading posts in the Southern Hemisphere through colonising new lands
- Other societies in the area rival European economic development and cultural sophistication
- However Europeans have more sophisticated technology with new diseases decimating indigenous populations wealth was exported back to Europe

Question 12

Describe stage 2 of underdevelopment.

Answer 12

2) Colonialism and Imperialism
- European countries establish colonies overseas
- They would then use local farms for cash crops (e.g. coffee) which are needed by the empire
- This can cause ‘mono-cultures’ that are dependent on the agriculture they harvest
- In the triangular trade, Europe would send goods (e.g. textiles) to places in Africa that would then send slaves to the Caribbean who would then send goods (e.g. sugar) back to Europe that are processed and sold throughout the empire
- Around 8/10 million Africans who were transported died on the journey
- Colonialism causes borders to be imposed on countries (e.g. the Conference of Berlin 1985) that creates divisions maintained by colonial powers than can cause issues such as the Rwanda genocide (Hulus and Tutsis)

Question 13

Using data from the HDI 2015, identify 2 examples of countries at the bottom of the index and why.

Answer 13

1) Niger - Colonial power of France who only allowed independence in 1960
2) Guinea - Colonial power of Portugal who only allowed independence in 1974

Question 14

Define ‘Neo-Colonialism’.

Answer 14

The attempt by former colonial powers to retain dominance over former colonies which have achieved formal independence.

Question 15

What did Jary and Jary (1991) define neo-colonialism as?

Answer 15

The process whereby advanced industrial countries dominate third world countries.

Question 16

Describe stage 3 of underdevelopment.

Answer 16

3) Neo-Colonialism
- Colonialism collapsed due to uprisings but exploitation continues due to unfair economic practice
- Southern Hemisphere still reliant on them for things that are exported and have falling prices in their countries (e.g. coffee) and so are sold back to them for higher prices
- Loans from developed countries maintain dependence on Western aid and trade and so remain underdeveloped

Question 17

What did Theresa Hayter (1981) refer to cash crops as?

Answer 17

False riches for developing countries due to cash crops being exported and with falling prices due to their increased need and so overall earnings go down due to still having to import things from other countries.

Question 18

List 5 effects of neo-colonialism.

Answer 18

1) Overproduction of primary products
2) Tariffs
3) Commodity prices
4) Western Inflation
5) Aid and debt

Question 19

Using an example, briefly explain overproduction of primary products as an effect of neo-colonialism.

Answer 19

• Satellites want to sell products to boost economy and pay off loans and so are dependent on agriculture
• Overproduction reduces price due to excess
• E.g. only 8p of a £1 chocolate bar goes to the farmer who exported the cocoa
• Processing occurs in West and so they benefit not developing countries
• Natural disasters and political instability can cause prices to fall in Satellites

Question 20

Briefly explain tariffs as an effect of neo-colonialism.

Answer 20

• Tariffs are a tax that results in goods becoming more expensive than home produced goods
• They keep Satellites underdeveloped by continuing dominance
• Prices reduce as local producers try to compete with the cheap imports from Metropolises
• Food aid can demotivate farmers through export dumping (when countries import at lower prices than local)

Question 21

Using an example, briefly explain commodity prices as an effect of neo-colonialism.

Answer 21

• Prices are sometimes out of the hands of the producers
• Instead they are set by commodity speculators located in Metropolises
• In 2006 it was estimated by the Merill Lynch bank that commodities were trading at prices 50% higher than they would have been without speculators
• Any fluctuation in world’s money market may burst this financial bubble (a price that exceeds the actual value)

Question 22

Using an example, briefly explain Western inflation as an effect of neo-colonialism.

Answer 22

• Subsidies and tariffs bolster the economy of Metropolises as over the past 30 years, prices of manufactured goods produced by Metropolises have risen
• Yet the prices in Satellites of the same goods as primary products have fallen
• Hayter (1981) argues the concept of false riches from cash crops applies to this in that overproduction of them to gain money causes reduced price

Question 23

Using an example, briefly explain aid and debt as an effect of neo-colonialism.

Answer 23

• Aid from IMF and World Bank to support Satellites
• Loans and debt may be paid off via cash crops , such as coffee and sugar
• 58% of GDP comes from agriculture in Sierra Leone
• Prices fall due to overproduction
• Exploits Satellites as keeps them dependent on Metropolises to keep them underdeveloped
• Almost all of Zambia’s copper mines are owned by corporations in the West due to being in debt to the IMF

Question 24

State this theory’s 2 solutions to development.

Answer 24

1) Moving out of dependent relationships

2) Associate development

Question 25

Using an example, briefly explain how moving out of dependent relationships will solve dependency and improve development.

Answer 25

• A Satellite isolating itself from a Metropolis for an extended period of time will allow the country to develop individually without reliance on others
• China became a global economic superpower after isolating itself from the West for 4 decades in 1960
• A way in which this can happen is when the Metropolis is weakened in economic stability to allow leeway to leave
• India isolated itself from Britain after WW2 in 1950

Question 26

Using an example, briefly explain how associate development will solve dependency and improve development.

Answer 26

• Adopting national economic policies about economic growth from the West
• Import Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) is when industrialisation produces consumer goods within Satellites that would normally be imported from Metropolises
• However ISI was controlled by elites that had policies leading to inequality alongside economic growth

Question 27

List 2 strengths of Dependency Theory.

Answer 27

1) Important to understanding our history and why there is some inequality between the rich and poor nations
2) Even the least developed countries see a route out of slow economic growth

Question 28

List 5 weaknesses of Dependency Theory.

Answer 28

1) Defining dependency - hard to operationalise with undefined Satellites and Metropolises
2) Benefits to developing nations - Modernisation theory argues Western aid brings about development as Thailand had economic growth due to long hours and low wages
3) Deterministic - Frank stated there was no way of changing position, whereas Wallerstein does with the World System Theory
4) Creation of infrastructure - Goldthorpe (1975) argued that colonialism provided countries with basic infrastructure as Ethiopia face severe development problems due to lack of infrastructure from never being colonised
5) Different levels of exploitation - Roberts and Hite (2000) note that Frank’s explanation is outdated as an explanation for modern exploitation

Question 29

Identify Wallerstein’s (1974) opposing theory.

Answer 29

World System Theory

Question 30

What are the 4 main elements of World System Theory?

Answer 30

1) Core
2) Semi-periphery
3) Periphery
4) External areas

Question 31

What did Wallerstein (1974) describe about the development of the ‘core’?

Answer 31

• The introduction of capitalism and industrialisation in the 16th Century brought about development
• Technological advancement allowed Europeans to travel and discover new areas where they were able to colonise with their weaponry
• The wealth they accumulated allowed them to invest in property and manufacture
• This began unequal development with European states developing as economic cores at the expense of peripheries
• E.g. British Empire export resources to Africa who transport slaves to the Caribbean who export commodities in return (e.g. sugar)

Question 32

What did Wallerstein (1974) describe about the development of the ‘semi-periphery’?

Answer 32

• These are core areas that are in economic decline
• It can take the form of either being powerful empires that lost influence or newer economies developing more power than they can compete with
• Therefore these emerging semi-periphery regions exploit peripheries but also benefit from the power of access to the core
• E.g. China extending its influence to Africa

Question 33

What did Wallerstein (1974) describe about the development of the ‘periphery’?

Answer 33

• Peripheral regions lay outside the geographical boundaries of cores and so lacked central government or where controlled by other nations
• This leads to control over local populations and mining of their resources
• E.g. Spanish areas of America were controlled by Europeans who enslaved local people

Question 34

What did Wallerstein (1974) describe about the development of the ‘external areas’?

Answer 34

• Areas that remain relatively remote from the world economic system
• Have limited foreign influence
• E.g. Japan did this in WW2

Question 35

Describe characteristics about the World System Theory.

Answer 35

• The change in the economic system overtime has led to core areas becoming semi-periphery and vice versa showing they can change status
• Countries can change their position between regions as they become more or less developed
• World of capitalism is flexible due not having a single political centre
• Different types of labour develop in different regions with core states requiring highly skilled labour and peripheries requiring low-skilled
• Economic crash in core causes lack of economic growth elsewhere
• Global capitalism causes concentrations of wealth in core regions with peripheries getting poorer

Question 36

Identify a sociologist who supports the World System Theory

Answer 36

Peter Worsley (1979) suggested that the theory looks at the world and its relationships as a whole and so it acknowledges all global phenomena in terms of world economies.

Question 37

Identify 2 criticisms of the World System Theory

Answer 37

1) It assumes that world poverty is a result of world capitalist exploitation but there are many LDCs that face geographical challenges with limited resources that are difficult to exploit
2) It describe global inequality well at the expense of a coherent explanation of it