StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Underdevelopment: Imperialism's lasting reach Walter Rodney - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In this chapter Rodney has described the development and underdevelopment very effectively through a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the facts and figures and through historical evidences. He has stressed the comparative nature of the concept of development…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.5% of users find it useful
Underdevelopment: Imperialisms lasting reach Walter Rodney
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Underdevelopment: Imperialism's lasting reach Walter Rodney"

In this chapter Rodney has described the development and underdevelopment very effectively through a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the facts and figures and through historical evidences. He has stressed the comparative nature of the concept of development. Rodney has clearly divided the world into two groups; one being the developed (Africa, Asia and Latin America) and the other the underdeveloped (Europe and North America). Being developed or underdeveloped does not only depend on the economic inequalities but more importantly it depends on the interaction between two countries which is mostly based on the exploitation of one by the other; the exploiter becoming developed and the exploited staying underdeveloped with a very low rate of growth thus development and underdevelopment are interlinked to each other.

The world development had different meaning in different periods of history. Mostly it was meant as a state of a social group which allows it to guard its interests effectively; letting the group fulfill its needs with total independence. Competition also often leads to development which is governed by the survival-of-the-fittest rule. When different social groups in past had limited supply of resources for meeting their needs they invented tools and started increasing the resources available to them so the competition among them resulted in their development.

This competition prevailed and also resulted in negative developments in the form of fights between tribes and wars between nations. As the needs increased the productivity also increased, so development can also be deemed as basic human instinct. Invention of tools, specialization in certain skills, division of tasks and forming associations for benefit of each other are various phases of primary developments that took place in various societies of the world and ultimately lead to the formation of social systems because expansion in economy leads to change in the form of social interactions.

This resulted in formation of feudalism and communalism and then socialism and capitalism. Economically analyzing, each succeeding stage resulted in development in the sense that the capacity to create a material environment for individuals in society and to increase productivity actually flourished at every stage but whether the uplift of mankind occurred or not with regards to moral state cannot be established for certain. The change almost every country of the world was revolutionary but in Africa it was more of a gradual and slow change and the ultimate result was the exploitation of the African resources by others.

In addition to socio-economic aspects, religion and beliefs were also the controlling factor because Africa for instance was never allowed to establish its independent church. Moreover lack of education and social awareness in Africa resulted in comparatively easy exploitation as compared to the people of Asia and Latin America. Capitalism emerged as a developmental source; solving the problems posed by feudalism as it presented the concepts of parliament, constitution and freedom of press however the fact which was concealed by these positive aspects is that capitalism is a social structure in which one group gets benefits at the expense of other.

Slowly the working class in the capitalist structure became aware of this aspect of the system and became self conscious; determined to take their destiny into their own hands thus the state of being exploited resulted in development and this development is moral and is far more sustainable then economic development. Capitalism has grasped the world very strongly and the proof is that socialism which gives better solutions to the problems present in social system as it turned the goal of production away from money market towards the satisfaction of human needs; arrived after capitalism has not replaced it completely and is actually present alongside it.

But socialism has made the workers class the most dynamic force in development. The various statistics and figures show that the developed world is utilizing the resources from Africa for its own benefit and the benefits of the vast resources in Africa are not given to the African population. As a result the African population is unable to meet its most basic needs. Not only the external world, the African leaders, who can actually be deemed as agents of capitalist system, are also a cause of the underdevelopment prevailing in Africa as the product of development earned by the workers and common man of Africa is spent not on their development but on the cars and perfume for the minute percentage which enjoy all the luxuries while the majority of population die of hunger and disease.

Minimizing the social gap based on economic development and spending the product of the efforts of common man on them by eliminating the brain drain so that progress can be achieved by Africans themselves is the only way in Africa can become self-sustainable in development. Works Cited Rodney, Walter. How Europe underdeveloped Africa. N.p.: Howard University Press, 1982. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Underdevelopment: Imperialism's lasting reach Walter Rodney Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/other/1408062-underdevelopment-imperialisms-lasting-reach-walter-rodney
(Underdevelopment: Imperialism'S Lasting Reach Walter Rodney Essay)
https://studentshare.org/other/1408062-underdevelopment-imperialisms-lasting-reach-walter-rodney.
“Underdevelopment: Imperialism'S Lasting Reach Walter Rodney Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/other/1408062-underdevelopment-imperialisms-lasting-reach-walter-rodney.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Underdevelopment: Imperialism's lasting reach Walter Rodney

Causes of Development and Underdevelopment

Causes of Development and underdevelopment Author Institution Causes of Development and underdevelopment Over time, there has been an interest in improving the living conditions of people living in developing countries.... hellip; There are varying explanations for causes of underdevelopment and the concepts of development.... This paper seeks to discuss the arguments about the causes of development and underdevelopment.... The paper will comment on the strength of these views and close with my position on the explanation of the causes of development and underdevelopment....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Main Issues about Contemporary Race and Underdevelopment

When it was said "Imperialism generates underdevelopment, using 'underdevelopment' as a term to cover both lack of capitalist industry and unevenness of industrial development along with mass misery within that development, it was Warren who replied that imperialism generates development meaning growth of capitalism, and increasing evenness of development, and increased social welfare".... hellip; (Foster) On the other hand, any planning approach which depends rather exclusively on fiscal or pure economic policies from the top eventually finds itself mired in a cycle of underdevelopment, or gross economic growth without equitable human development....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

The Notion of Imperialism

This paper "The Notion of Imperialism" presents the original meaning of Imperialism that was simply one powerful ruler ruling over many territories and regions either inside the European continent or anywhere else in the world.... It meant the all-powerful British crown-making policies for colonies....
8 Pages (2000 words) Case Study

Technological the 19th Century Western Imperialism

This report Technological the 19th Century Western Imperialism stresses that Prior to the technological transformations, the pace at which Western nations expanded was moderate.... This is according to the book written by Jeremy Black.... hellip; This study is set out to explain the effect of technology, on the 19th century's European Imperialism and to this, the questions, “How did technology determine the course of the nineteenth century imperialisms?...
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

What It Means for a State to Be an Imperial Power

It invokes imagery of superpower conquest of vulnerable, primitive people, and the exploitation of natural resources to feed… Aside from these value-laden, extravagant representations of abuse and mistreatment, the issue of imperialism deserves a dispassionate look into what it means (both in the past and in the present) for a state to be an imperial power: Like many other terms in the popular lexicon, imperialism is one that finds its use in bolstering the emotional appeals of populist arguments....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Imperialism from a Theoretical Perspective

The paper "Imperialism" presents that though the term “Imperialism” was first used to refer to the expansionist policies of Napoleon I, and is frequently associated with the colonial rule of the European states over other countries, 'imperialism' is as old as Empire is.... hellip; The term 'Imperialism' along with its historical connotation has been defined by different scholars in different ways, but the underlying commonality of the definitions refer to a form of domination of one political, socio-cultural and economic unit of geographical area over the others as one of the primary characteristics of imperialism....
6 Pages (1500 words) Report

Social Imperialism

In the following essay, the writer discusses the concept of the idea and meaning of social imperialism.... Moreover, the writer focuses on the history of the movement, describing the most significant periods from its origins to contemporary understanding.... hellip; Social-imperialism is a term typically used in an offensive approach to describe people, states that are "socialist in manner imperialist in deeds"....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

American Imperialism

This report "American Imperialism" discusses the American imperialism that was motivated by political, territorial, and economic expansion desires, even though the events occurred at different times.... The U.... .... manifested imperialism in the 19th and 20th centuries in a couple of ways.... hellip; An examination of Wilsons' point IV, “Adequate guarantees are given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point consistent with domestic safety” is a clear demonstration of the present world's regulations, which articulates and limits nations from developing deadly nuclear weapons that contravene the UN's regulations for which the U....
11 Pages (2750 words) Report
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us