Essay Plan: The Influence of Third-Worldism on Development Theory

This essay plan examines the impact of Third-Worldism on development theory. It begins by defining Third-Worldism and its emergence during the Cold War, leading to debates on development strategies. The plan explores various theories, including modernization and dependency theories, and their...Read More

Running head: ESSAY PLAN
Essay Plan
Name of the University
Name of the Student
Author note

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ESSAY PLAN
1. Essay Topic
Critically assess the impact of ‘Third-Worldism’ on development theory.
2. Thesis Statement
The essay will present arguments to support the view that the concept of Third-Worldism
has had an influence on development theory. Examples from the works of renowned political
thinkers and scholars will be used to illustrate the argument further.
3. Argument
Topic Sentence
Development Theories were formulated in order to provide a viable solution to the
problem of development in the so-called Third World nations.
Justification
 The concept of Third World emerged during the Cold War when the world was
divided into two blocs –the Liberalist USA and the Communist Soviet (Altbach &
De Wit, 2015). The nations that decided not to support either of the two blocs
ended up being designated as Third World nations and since then, debate
regarding the development of the Third World became a serious issue (Spolaore
& Wacziarg, 2013).
 During the 1950s and 1960s, scholars formulated certain theories of
underdevelopment that gradually lost significance at the later part of the 19th
century. More specifically the theories that were developed as tools to analyze the
Third World gradually seemed to be negated by later theorists (Hurrell, 2013).

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 Although theories of development were formulated as early as the 1930s, Walt
Whitman Rostow provided the most widely accepted modernization theory of
development in1960. His five stages of development included Traditional society,
Preconditions for take-off, Take-off, Drive to maturity and Age of high mass
consumption (Ács & Naudé, 2013).
Topic sentence
Third-Worldism gave rise to differences of opinion amongst development theorists where
one group focused on development within international economic system, dividing the world
economy into core and periphery.
Justification
 The later theories like the dependency theory countered the modernization theory
stating that not all nations follow the same stages of development. According to
dependency theorists, the trend of development in the Third World cannot be
measured through uniform stages of development as applied in European and
Western nations (Bergek & Onufrey, 2013). They argued that rich nations drained
wealth from the poor nations in the name of development.
 Matthews (2017) while arguing in favor of dependency theory, states that the
theory provided a clear perspective on the need for reassessment of
developmental procedures for Third World nations. Bull and Bøås (2012)
however argue that both modernization and dependency theory failed to provide
viable solutions to the problems of development even today.

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 As mentioned by Berger and Weber (2014), the emergence of the concept of
Third World, gave rise to two different worlds. One was identified by the
modernization theory that accounted for the developed Europe and North
American states whereas the other world was characterized by the dependency
theory.
Topic Sentence
Third World development deviated from the developmental ideals of the so-called First
and Second Worlds of Western and European nations.
Justification
 After the Second World War, the United Nations came into being that looked to provide
concrete solutions for the affected nations. It was observed that most of the policies and
ideas initiated by the UN reflected the developmental ideals of the developed nations.
Leaders of the Third World nations realized that the UN functioned as per the ideologies
of the powerful nations. This led to the formation of several Third World organizations
that included BRICS, SAARC and few others” (Ahmad & Sehgal, 2017).
 McArthur and Werker (2016) point out that the end of the Cold War and the formation of
the UN led to several trends majorly related to the Third World Nations. The first major
trend was the greater role played by Third World nations in the global economy followed
by access to advanced technologies. In addition, the Third World nations formed their
own organizations to tackle “basic human needs”. However, the trends were not positive
entirely as the era was also characterized by the “evolution of a complex set of problems
in spite of the progress”.

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 Development, as characterized by the developed nations, refers mainly to
industrialization. Countries that are less industrialized are categorized as developing or
underdeveloped nations. However, this notion of development was rejected by the Third
World nations who believed that being highly industrialized fulfills only a segment of
development and does not signify overall development. Hadjimichalis and Hudson
(2014) identified that the concept of Third Worldism resulted in the formulation of
development theories that deviated from the Western and European nations.
Topic Sentence
The economic development theories articulated by Adam Smith and Karl Marx talked
about two contrasting development ideologies. These theories acted as the base for
differentiating development patterns in Third World and European and Western nations.
Justification
 Adam Smith’s notion of an economically strong nation was based on the effectiveness of
the division of labor. As Fainshmidt et al. (2016) note, Smith believed that the economy
that is free from government interference and that promotes free trade, competition and
private property, is more likely to usher. This notion of economic development is still
reflected in the developed nations though not entirely. Karl Marx, in contrast to this,
argued in favor of government interference and “public ownership of property”.
 It is evident from the ideas proposed by both the theorists that development had different
connotations to different people and in different settings. Third Worldism emerged as a
concept that seemed to propagate both these theories as per their suitability in different
settings. This also led to conflict of ideas within the Third World.

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ESSAY PLAN
Topic Sentence
Until the introduction of neoclassical models of development, the dependency theory was
sought to be the perfect theory that recognized the need for a different development pattern for
Third World nations.
Justification
 Dependency theory, as already stated, proposed that the lack of development in Third
World developing nations existed not due to their own fault but because of European and
Western domination. The theory further elaborates that the domination over developing
nations by multinational corporations resulted in further deterioration of the developing
nations. Benefits extracted by the MNCs in the name of development for poor nations
hardly ever reached the concerned population, stated the theory.
 In the later years of the 20th century however, the dependency theory received criticism
from the neoclassical theorists. According to the proponents of the neoclassical counter-
revolution models of development, underdevelopment in Third World nations was not a
result of international dominance or dependence; rather it was a result of domestic issues
(Casson, 2015). The model stated that rising corruption, poor allocation of resource,
heavy price distortion by government and other such factors contributed to
underdevelopment.
Topic Sentence
Modern concepts of sustainable development and initiatives like Millennial Development
Goals (MDGs) by the UN are criticized for being imposed majorly upon developing nations. The

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issue of sustainability cannot be resolved unless developed nations take serious steps than just
prophesy others what to do.
Justification
 The sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the UN aims to achieve
development in all the nations of the world without harming the environment. The
proposal initially seemed remarkable as for the first time did nations focused on the
sustainable aspect of development. As noted by Battersby (2017), SDGs and the MDGs
introduced by the UN was a revolutionary idea that had the capability to provide solution
to problems that had been withheld for decades.
 The SDGs and MDGs that hoped to eradicate poverty and combat other issues that were
responsible for underdevelopment, were largely criticized for being biased (Ft.com,
2018). It was perceived to be a list of activities prescribed by the Western and European
nations to the Third World developing nations to tackle issues of underdevelopment.
 It is but imperative to state that the developed nations failed to recognize their own faults.
While preaching the poorer economies, they forgot to realize that their own economy had
been responsible for the damage done to the overall cause of development. Therefore, the
development theories and models and the initiatives taken over the decades had been
influenced by the concept of Third Worldism as is evident from the current picture.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be observed from the above argument that the emergence of Third
World concept changed the course of developmental discussions. Theorists and scholars
emerging from different Third World nations refused to accept the methods of development

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prescribed by the developed nations. The essay has presented arguments and views by several
authors on the topic and established that Third Worldism did have an impact of development
theory.

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References:
Ács, Z. J., & Naudé, W. (2013). Entrepreneurship, stages of development, and
industrialization. Pathways to industrialization in the Twenty-First Century, 373-392.
Ahmad, W., & Sehgal, S. (2017). Business Cycle and Financial Cycle Interdependence and the
Rising Role of China in SAARC. Journal of Quantitative Economics, 1-26.
Altbach, P. G., & De Wit, H. (2015). Internationalization and global tension: Lessons from
history. Journal of studies in international education, 19(1), 4-10.
Battersby, J. (2017). MDGs to SDGs–new goals, same gaps: the continued absence of urban food
security in the post-2015 global development agenda. African Geographical
Review, 36(1), 115-129.
Bergek, A., & Onufrey, K. (2013). Is one path enough? Multiple paths and path interaction as an
extension of path dependency theory. Industrial and Corporate Change, 23(5), 1261-
1297.
Berger, Mark & Weber, Heloise. (2014). Third World Rising: Decolonization, the Cold War and
Third Worldism. 40-59. 10.1007/978-1-137-44112-6_3.
Bull, B., & Bøås, M. (2012). Between Ruptures and Continuity: Modernisation, Dependency and
the Evolution of Development Theory. Forum for Development Studies, 39(3), 319–336.
doi:10.1080/08039410.2012.688860
Casson, M. (2015). Coase and international business: the origin and development of
internalisation theory. Managerial and Decision Economics, 36(1), 55-66.

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Fainshmidt, S., Judge, W. Q., Aguilera, R. V., & Smith, A. (2016). Varieties of institutional
systems: A contextual taxonomy of understudied countries. Journal of World Business.
Hadjimichalis, C., & Hudson, R. (2014). Contemporary crisis across Europe and the crisis of
regional development theories. Regional Studies, 48(1), 208-218.
Hurrell, A. (2013). Narratives of emergence: Rising powers and the end of the Third
World?. Revista de Economia Política, 33(2), 203-221.
Matthews, S. (2017). Colonised minds? Post-development theory and the desirability of
development in Africa. Third World Quarterly, 38(12), 2650–2663.
doi:10.1080/01436597.2017.1279540
McArthur, J. W., & Werker, E. (2016). Developing countries and international organizations:
Introduction to the special issue.
Spolaore, E., & Wacziarg, R. (2013). How deep are the roots of economic
development?. Journal of Economic Literature, 51(2), 325-69.