What We Know About Modernization, an Analysis
"The strong do what they have to do and the weak accept what they have to accept." -Thucydides
In the modern-day United States, we live in a culture of self-expression, prosperity, and freedom. But these ideas of universal entitlement and inalienable humans rights have become so ingrained in our society, that we often forget that the rest of the world doesn 't necessarily think the same way. The development of our social values and beliefs was a process, and we cannot force them onto any other group of people and assume that the "gift of democracy" will bring them everlasting peace and prosperity. Democracy is the result of a complex and often lengthy process of modernization, and just as Gandhi references in the previously stated quote, democracy requires a change in the people themselves. Gandhi was not the only person to recognize this prerequisite for the development of a successful democracy. What Gandhi calls "a change of heart" is also referred to as a "change in a society 's beliefs and values," by Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel in their Foreign Affairs article "How Development Leads to Democracy: What We Know About Modernization." Inglehart and Welzel recognize the fact that democratic institutions are not easily established. This is evident when one looks at U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East. Even the embargo on Cuba demonstrates how difficult it can be for the United States to achieve its desire of democratic reform. However ardent this desire may be, and however logical it may seem to us, a society may not be receptive or even capable of maintaining democracy unless certain social and cultural conditions exist. This is the core of Inglehart and Welzel 's ideas on the subject of modernization. They claim that economic development and modernization push those conditions in the right direction and make democracy increasingly likely. This concept is a liberal point of view. It can be supported by peace
In the modern-day United States, we live in a culture of self-expression, prosperity, and freedom. But these ideas of universal entitlement and inalienable humans rights have become so ingrained in our society, that we often forget that the rest of the world doesn 't necessarily think the same way. The development of our social values and beliefs was a process, and we cannot force them onto any other group of people and assume that the "gift of democracy" will bring them everlasting peace and prosperity. Democracy is the result of a complex and often lengthy process of modernization, and just as Gandhi references in the previously stated quote, democracy requires a change in the people themselves. Gandhi was not the only person to recognize this prerequisite for the development of a successful democracy. What Gandhi calls "a change of heart" is also referred to as a "change in a society 's beliefs and values," by Ronald Inglehart and Christian Welzel in their Foreign Affairs article "How Development Leads to Democracy: What We Know About Modernization." Inglehart and Welzel recognize the fact that democratic institutions are not easily established. This is evident when one looks at U.S. involvement in Iraq and the Middle East. Even the embargo on Cuba demonstrates how difficult it can be for the United States to achieve its desire of democratic reform. However ardent this desire may be, and however logical it may seem to us, a society may not be receptive or even capable of maintaining democracy unless certain social and cultural conditions exist. This is the core of Inglehart and Welzel 's ideas on the subject of modernization. They claim that economic development and modernization push those conditions in the right direction and make democracy increasingly likely. This concept is a liberal point of view. It can be supported by peace
Bibliography: Fergusson, Adam. When Money Dies. London: William Kimber, 1975. Print. Ingelhart and Welzel. "How Development Leads to Democracy: What We Know About Modernization." Foreign Affairs March-April: 2009. Print. Pantham, Thomas. "Thinking With Mahatma Gandhi." Political Theory, Vol. 11, No. 2 (May, 1983), pp. 165-188 < http://www.jstor.org/pss/191295>