世新大學九十二學年度碩士在職專班考試

系所別	考試科目
社會發展研究所	英文

以下摘段落為某書總結主流社會科學對現代理論的一些批評，請詳閱文字並以中文或英文簡短回答問題：

一、為何說現代化理論是「單向發展」？批評者提供的解釋為何？(50%)

二、這些論點對思考台灣發展歷程有何參考價值？(50%)

Unidirectional Development

First, the critics have challenged the evolutionary assumptions of unidirectional development. Why do Third World countries need to move in the direction of Western countries? According to the critics, this element of modernization theory is simply the result of the fact that most modernization researcher are Americans and Europeans. Born and raised in Western countries, modernization researchers believe that their own cultural values are the most natural and the best in the world. Thinking that their Western countries represent the future of the Third World countries, they assume that the Third World countries will move toward the Western model of development. According to the critics, this belief in Western superiority is “ethnocentric.” For example, why are Western counties placed at the higher end of the evolutionary path and labeled “advanced” or “modern” societies? And why are Third World countries placed near lower end of the evolutionary path and called “primitive” or “traditional” societies? The critics argue that concepts such as “advanced,” ”modern,” ”traditional,” and “primitive” are merely ideological labels used to justify Western superiority.

Second, the critics assert that belief in unidirectional development has resulted in modernization researchers’ overlooking alternative paths of development for Third World countries. Since modernization researches assume that Third World countries must follow the Western model, they have practically defined away the possibility that these countries may select different models of development. For example, since the United States has democratic institutions, modernization researchers assume that democracy is a major component of modernization. But is democracy necessary for economic development? Do Third World countries have other choices? For instance, can they follow the authoritarian development of Taiwan and South Korea? Can they create their own models of development?

Third, the critics argue that modernization researchers are overly optimistic. They have mistakenly assumed that since Western countries have achieved development. Third World countries can also. Researchers have not fully explored the possibility of non-development. Many critics assert that the future of Third World development is uncertain. There is a real possibility of modernization breakdown such as that Ethiopia, where the people have faced starvation and the nation has faced extinction. The critics point out that many Third World countries have in fact gotten worse over past century. It seems that the modernization process can be stopped or even reversed, contrary to the claims of the modernization school.