Caribbean Population -Application of Population studies
Now that we have established and examine the interpretation of several concepts used when evaluating population studies, we now have to assess other associate terms. Term such as development, underdevelopment, sustainable development, modernization, industrialization, GDP, GNP and the cost of living. These terms and phrases will be evaluated in addition to other terms and theories relating to population studies.. Each will be carefully assessed along its own merit. In order to fully comprehend the complexity of population studies the term development has to be comprehensively assessed. The term development is a concept which is contested both theoretically and politically. Development can be viewed as a traditionally complex and ambiguous phenomenon. Development is viewed as the force which aid in the reduction of poverty. This of course is one of the prime objectives of the United Nations. (Thomas, 2004: 1, 2).
Development comes with the vision of the liberation of people and peoples throughout the world. In enhances the thought of economic independence and profitability. For development to occur within any society or region, structural transformation is required. This begins from the management of population size and continues with the sustainability of the existing population through sustainable economic activities. For many countries and regions including those throughout the Caribbean the dynamics of long-term transformations of economies and societies [has] slipped from view and attention was placed on short-term growth and re-establishing financial balances. This could be attributed to the post-modernization ideology of short term profitability, (Gore, 2000: 794–5).
Every social scientist view poverty and development as repulsive towards each other. Poverty cannot foster development. Whilst with development poverty is managed and is not seen as a social issue. The existence of the post modernist ideology look for alternative value systems so that the poor are not stigmatized and their spiritual and cultural ‘assets’ are recognized. Development within any country or region is an intentional process. Development should be viewed as positive change. According to several social scientist development means good change, it is value laden. Development depend[s] on values and on alternative conceptions of the good life, there is no structured uniform or unique answer. (Kanbur, 2006: 5).
Underdevelopment is a term commonly used to emphasize the socio-economic conditions of the Caribbean as well as several regions such as Africa and Latin America. Many resources exist throughout the Caribbean, Fossil fuel, bauxite, gold and natural gas to name a few. The resources necessary to develop these resources are not readily available for many countries within the above listed countries and regions. It takes much financial effort to ensure resources are developed in third world regions. Investments are usually from companies with their head offices in already developed countries. When large investments are made within developing regions such as Caribbean, a large portion of their net profit is remitted to the country in which the company origin. Such investments does not aid the in the rapid growth of the country in which the investment is taking place in. This is just one disadvantage of globalization.
Underdevelopment points to the issue of lack of development. The lack of development exists in many countries due to many social and economic situations. These may include corruption, crime and violence to name a few. The above listed limit the progression of improved life and sustainable existence of humans. The resources in existence are either too few to maintain the existing population or require great investments to unearth economic success. The state of a country’s development affects the gross national product and the gross domestic product. Both mirror the economic forecast of a country’s economic timeline. Several social scientist and pundits have shared opinion on the notion that the gross national product provides economic knowledge of a country’s economic growth or success. The gross national product is commonly used to assess economic development strategies in less developed nations. From their inception, however, the national income and product accounts have also been used to make international comparisons of wellbeing and to track changes in a country's level of welfare. Gross national product is the average income of a specific society. Both Gross National Product and Gross Domestic Product can provide insights into standards of living and economic progress.
There are sharp distinction between GDP and GNP. The difference between GNP and GDP is whether or not the foreign earning of individuals and corporations are included in the total. U.S. GNP, for example, includes the foreign earning of U.S. residents and corporations but excludes the earnings of foreign individuals and corporations from activities in the U.S. U.S. GDP includes all income earned within the U.S., regardless of the nationality or residence of the recipient, but excludes earnings of U.S. residents and corporations from foreign sources. Although it has only been around for roughly 60 years, it is almost impossible to think of a time before the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or its cousin, the Gross National Product (GNP).GDP envelops every business decision and guides general government policy. The Gross Domestic Product can be viewed as a measure of Market activity and economic growth. Many economist view the Gross Domestic Product as a positive macro-economic indicator.
The Gross Domestic Product measures the total value, calculated in dollars, of all final production in a country. It can be calculated in three ways: by adding up income and profits received from production of goods and services; by adding up expenditures on goods and services (adding money spent on exports and subtracting money spent on imports); and by adding up the value added by labour and capital when inputs purchased from other producers are transformed into output. It measures flows through the economy – production – not stocks, such as wealth and already-existing capital equipment, and it does not measure financial transactions or gifts, where only money changes hands.
While GDP measures economic activity within a country’s borders, the Gross National Product (GNP) measures the total income of a country’s citizens. It adds rents, interest, profits and dividends flowing into the country to GDP, while subtracting rents, interest, profits and dividends paid out to foreigners. At present, GDP is preferred to GNP because policy-makers are usually interested in the level of economic activity within a country’s borders. In most cases, GDP and GNP are roughly equivalent, although for some countries with a large foreign presence, such as Ireland, GNP is the preferred measure. Real GDP per capita is often used as an indicator of the evolution of a population’s standard of living. It is calculated as the real value of production of goods and services divided by the overall population.
It is through the realization of the GDP and the GNP one can determine in its truest sense a country’s level of sustainable development. Sustainable development is development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable Development is often described as being built on three, equally important foundations or pillars. To have a sustainable future, the needs of people must be met equally. Needs are things like access to medical care, suitable housing, food, and sanitation. Additionally, people will want as high a standard of living as possible and this must be achieved in a way that does not harm or exploit others. Sustainable development addresses these needs by promoting equality, education and participation in local communities.
People throughout the world deserve the best standard of living that is sustainable. Improving medical care, sanitation, education, and enabling people to support themselves with a good standard of living requires the generation of wealth by economic activity. Sustainable economies also need to be competitive in a world market. Products that are too expensive to buy cannot be sustainable, even if they are environmentally friendly. A country’s progression both in economics and social sphere is marked by its position within the modernized era. The standard of living of an individual is based on one’s per capita income.
What is meant by per capita income? This is a measure of the amount of money that is being earned per person in a certain area. Income per capita can apply to the average per-person income for a city, region or country and is used as a means of evaluating the living conditions and quality of life in different areas. It can be calculated for a country by dividing the country's national income by its population. Modernization could be used to describe a level of progression in human history. Moving from a "pre-modern" or "traditional" to a "modern" society. The era of modernization within many societies throughout the world is marked by period of industrialization. A practical and theoretical explanation of the term modernization can be describe as, The endogenous explanation is a "modernization" theory. The basic assumption of this theory, in any of its versions, is that there is one general process of which democratization is but the final stage. Modernization consists of a gradual differentiation and specialization of social structures that culminates in a separation of political structures from other structures and makes democracy possible.
The specific causal chains consist of sequences of industrialization, urbanization, education, communication, mobilization, and political incorporation, among innumerable others: a progressive accumulation of social changes that ready a society to proceed to its culmination, democratization. Modernization may be one reason the incidence of democracy is related to economic development, and this is the reading most commentators impute to Lipset. His most influential critic, O'Donnell, paraphrases Lipset's thesis as saying that "if other countries become as rich as the economically advanced nations, it is highly probable that they will become political democracies." Democracy, then, is endogenous, since it results from development under authoritarianism.
According to this theory, the sequence of events one would expect is one of poor authoritarian countries developing and becoming democratic once they reach some level of development, a "threshold." Yet suppose that dictatorships are equally likely to die and democracies to emerge at any level of development. They may die for so many different reasons that development, with all its modernizing consequences, plays no privileged role. After all, as Therborn emphasized, many European countries democratized because of wars, not because of "modernization," a story repeated by the Argentine defeat in the Malvinas and elsewhere. Some dictatorships fell in the aftermath of the death of a founding dictator--a Franco, for instance--who had been uniquely capable of maintaining the dictatorial order. Some collapsed because of economic crises. Indeed modernization has changed the living standards of many and has influenced the cost of living. Modernization was realized by many societies as a result of the rebirth of knowledge (the period of industrialization).
It is widely suggested that industrialization, intended as the shift from agriculture to manufacturing. Industrialization is seen as the key to development. In reality hardly any countries have developed without industrializing. This phenomenon has been so striking to induce some economists to hypothesize that the manufacturing sector is the engine of economic growth, the so-called “engine of growth argument” (Kaldor, 1967). The recent economic crisis, coupled with the considerable expansion of the financial service sector, and the difficulties that many developing countries still encounter to industrialize, brought manufacturing back in the spotlight. Policy makers in both developed and developing countries are reconsidering the virtues of manufacturing. Recent empirical work applied cross country and panel data analysis and found general support to the hypothesis of manufacturing as an engine of growth.
In short, there is a strong relationship between growth and industrialization. How does this related to the Caribbean region? The present global economic climate and new trading regimes demand that Caribbean countries become more competitive in all their activities and not just in the manufacturing or agricultural sectors, the main focus of most discussions on trade liberalization. On the surface, there seem to be few areas in which small States throughout the Caribbean with limited resources can become competitive, except in tourism that does not in itself require technological developments by the States themselves. The use of appropriate technologies and policies to properly manage the resource is not always seen as vital to the continued survival of the industry. In such a scenario, States that play catch-up and continue to depend solely on imported technologies and processes, thereby replacing their indigenous knowledge base and activities, may never attain competitiveness in their products.
While technological development and its link to competitiveness has been long recognized, countries of the Caribbean, like most developing countries, depend on technology transfer more than technological development for their needs. The often cited reason is that a particular problem of developing countries is the lack of finance needed for endogenous research for technological development. There exist, therefore, a number of programmes promoting technology transfer from developed countries. However, while some countries have been able to take advantage of these transfers and benefit from them, the overall record of technology transfer to developing countries has not been encouraging. The results suggest, therefore, that there is no real substitute for indigenous technology generation to augment imported technologies.
The lessons from the history of science and technology suggest that competitiveness is usually achieved when interventions are made in the products and processes that are already endemic in the society. Thus, the Europeans could borrow gunpowder from the Chinese and, by using it as a main instrument of war, were able to subjugate the inventors. Shakakan could transform a small tribe in Africa into a mighty fighting force that threatened the British army by simply reducing the length of the spear that was already in use, and making it a thrusting weapon rather than a throwing weapon. The Internet is now blossoming on the world stage from its modest beginnings in 1955 in the United States Defense Department.
What about the dependency theorist? To a great extent the perspective of the modernization theorist is criticized by the dependency theorists . Both theories was conceive just around the same period in history. The theory of dependency emerged first in Latin America , amongst social scientists such as Raul Prebisch, an Argentinian economist, who was Secretary to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America in the 1950s. The ideas of dependency were also developed, amongst others, by other Latin American social scientists such as Celso Furtado, Theotonio Dos Santos and F H Cardoso; by Samir Amin of Senegal, by Andre Gunder Frank of Germany and by Paul Baran and Immanuel Wallerstein (who later formulated another, related version, called world-systems theory) of the US.
Dependency is also not a homogeneous, unified theory—serious analytical differences persist within the school. But in essence, dependency theory argues that the origins of persistent global poverty cannot be understood without reference to the entire international economic system. Underdevelopment is not a condition: it is an active process of impoverishment linked to development. That is, some parts of the world are underdeveloped because others are developed. They are not separate processes but two aspects of the same process. In other words, economic growth in advanced countries created Third World poverty in its wake: not simply that the Third World is poor in comparison with the industrialised world; rather that it is poor because development of the industrial system in Western Europe and North America changed and impoverished many societies of Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, through colonialism, imperialism and extractive terms of trade. Dependency perspective ( theory) on population argues that before the era of modern economic growth (until about 500 years ago), the world's major regions were not densely connected to each other (though extensive trade networks existed). When capitalism began to spread, the ceaseless search for profit began: through the production of agricultural goods in colonies or other lands, and Western Europe’s ability to drive unequal bargains. This fundamentally changed the social structures of the Third World. The term dependency comes from this link: Some say the exploitation of various regions for their raw materials and labour impoverished them and made them depend on the West. Others point out that in fact it is the other way around: that the West has been dependent on the Third World though history in order to be able to grow and prosper.
So, poverty in the Third World is not ‘traditional’ or accidental. It is a necessary companion to the richness of the developed world. The expansion of the industrial world deformed the rest of the world. Historian Eric Williams, for example, argues that the slave trade between Africa and the Caribbean islands was responsible for the emergence of a commercial middle class in Britain and eventually for Britain 's industrial revolution. Slaves were taken from Africa to the Caribbean ; their unpaid and coerced labour produced such profitable commodities as sugar or cotton, which were taken to Europe for huge profits. This provided the conditions for ‘take-off’ for Britain’s industrial revolution. Similarly, in the late-18th century, Haiti, now the poorest country in the northern hemisphere, produced one-half of all the sugar and coffee consumed in Europe and the Americas, as well as substantial amounts of indigo and cotton. The approximately 500,000 slaves working on the colony's 8,000-odd plantations generated two-fifths of France’s overseas trade These examples show the dependency approach: the actual creation of underdevelopment at the cost of development. West African societies were uprooted by centuries of the slave trade; in the Caribbean the plantation system (set up to meet the needs of the colonists) met no local needs and impoverished workers. Mines in the Third World produced bauxite, tin, iron and other metals and minerals for the industries of the West. All of this depended on cheap indentured or slave labour. Many of the regions of the world were left with skewed, impoverished economies and devastated populations while the now-developed countries gained prosperity.
This was a grossly unequal exchange: the Third World gave much more than it got. The exchange may have created some new wealth in the Third World , some infrastructure maybe, but it also created an international system of inequality. Members of dependency see this process as continuing. For example, transnational corporations bargain from a position of strength, distort the local economy, create vast income gaps, impose their own priorities, and damage the environment. Or the World Bank and IMF pursue policies that indirectly favour rich countries. So, modernization theory sees capitalism as a creative force, causing growth and progress. Dependency sees international capitalism as the ruin of the Third World. Modernization sees rich countries as helpers of poor countries; dependency sees them as the main obstacle to the well-being of the poorer countries. Not all of dependency theorists’ prescriptions are anti-capitalism however: some see some good in using capitalism and protectionism to enhance national economies. An offshoot of dependency has been world-systems theory: is also emphasises the expansion of a capitalist world economy from the beginning of the 16th century. It views the global economy in long-term perspective and sees the world system in a constant state of flux. There are no fixed rankings and locations but cyclical rhythms of expansion and stagnation. Countries are capable of upward and downward mobility over very long periods; there is no uni-directional development.
It has been argued that all such approaches are ultimately partial. Each looks at different patterns and comes up with different explanations. The world is like a ball of tangled string: one theory figuratively cuts it across with a knife and sees one intricate pattern; another cuts across another side to see another pattern. This often results in ‘this’ or ‘that’ arguments when reality is much more complex. The Sociological perspective on the plantation theory Although the theory of plantation economy originated in Latin America, the ideas expounded on was shared by Eric Williams and George Beckford as they write on the plantation system and the Caribbean. It focuses on the fact that at one time within the history of the Caribbean region experienced self independence. The primary objective of this economy mirrors only a few having the power and the resources to manipulate circumstances thus encouraging profitably to the elite. This theory was conceptualized by using the organizational framework as existed during chattel slavery. During the early years of civilization throughout the Caribbean (chattel Slavery), production of raw materials and other produces were cultivated throughout the Caribbean. At the appropriate time, these crops would be packed and shipped to Europe for sale and use. The profit of this trade remains in Europe. The workers on the sugar plantation yielded very few benefits from this trade arrangement. Workers were all slaves; they were just allowed their basic supplies which should help to keep them alive. Some sociologist have suggested, that slavery could be attributed to underdevelopment of the majority of the Caribbean region.
Like a child socialized to adopt the norms of his parents and neighbouring siblings, so many small Caribbean countries have adopted the dependency nature. This dependency nature has transcended through slavery and has survived until today. Today a low per-capita income throughout the region have ignited the need to depend on large developed countries for their produced goods. The focus has shifted from a plantation type society to a manufacturing type society. Many Countries throughout the Caribbean depends heavily on agricultural production export for a sustained high GDP and GNP. The economic diversity which exists in developed countries today, just does not exist in developing countries like those within the Caribbean. As a result, today, there exist unequal and uneven development of the capitalist aims and objectives. The marketing of Bauxite, Petroleum and tourism as a hallmark of the Caribbean economy have led to the constraining of the legacy of the region. Once the hub for the exporting of Banana, sugar and other agricultural produce, the change in the region’s economic model have shifted the focus of the vision for achieving economic success and development. The above economic anomaly of trade has encouraged uneven and unequal development throughout the Caribbean region. Not every country throughout the Caribbean posses the listed commodities highlighted as economic game changers (bauxite, petroleum and a tourism market).
So as to achieve the status as developed country, a economic transformation is needed. Economic positions should never be considered along the same avenue as it did during the plantation era. The elite of the day or the social class in which one belongs should never be a predetermining factor which envisages change. The greatest rival to economic change is ourselves. Throughout the Caribbean region many persons are selfish, lacking the cooperative framework to work collaboratively in order to achieve economic success. The mentality of the past economical framework has impeded the necessary steps needed. In the 1970’s many Caribbean countries went about localizing and nationalizing many foreign own businesses. Although several factors led to these steps being taken example the Cuban revolution, this step mirrors the plantation school of economics. It was felt by many that economic transformation should be led by the government of the day.
The theory of plantation economics does not advocates for the localization and nationalization of businesses, however the above reasoning and suggestion points to the philosophical framework of many socialist during the era being examine. The aim was to suggest and rationalize how better the resources of the day could be managed and profits shared amongst all concerned throughout society. The forging of the CARICOM partnership agreement during the 1970’s was another step in achieving economic prosperity throughout the region. The argument could be made that in relations to the plantation economy theory (model), regional integration is a positive step. It could be viewed as an integral move which should encourage structural changes in production and accumulation. As group regional integrated countries encourages changes in trade, foreign policies and social affairs, the standard of living should improve thus encouraging change in the region’s developmental status. One should note that the adoption of the plantation economy suggests the embracing of the Capitalist ideology. The Caribbean today mirrors the practices of the Europeans during their high days of trading throughout the Caribbean and Europe. The Caribbean is the epi-center of agricultural production, however it strongly depend on manufactured goods from developed countries to survive. Although trade liberalization is the norm today, the Caribbean have little to offer the world in product other than agriculture. Race and class have affected the economical prospects of the region. Nepotism and prejudice lingers within every ambit of society. Production, marketing and sales of produced goods are cautioned by entrepreneur. The organization of several Caribbean countries still mirrors several sphere of the plantation system which once enveloped the region. All aspects of society is affected by the plantation model of economics, these include, politics, social life and economic stability.
In conclusion, one can suggest that Industrialization and modernization throughout the developed and developing world have resulted in improved technology, trade and communication. Development can be considered a process. This process results in economic growth and sustainable development. Aided with modernization, manufacturing industries have increased production and have resulted in the improvement of life expectancy over the years. In addition per capita income has improved.
References
Beckford, George (1972); Persistent Poverty, Underdevelopment in Plantation Economies of the Third World; Oxford University Press, New York.
Best, Lloyd and Kari Polanyi, Levitt ( 1969);Propelled industrialization and growth in the Caribbean, Selected Essays, Vols.I,II,III, AND IV; Montreal , McGill Center for developing area study Unpublished.MS.
Kaldor, N. 1967, Strategic Factors in Economic Development, Ithaca: Cornell University.
Kaldor, N. (1978), The Effects of Devaluation on Trade in Manufactures, in Future Essays on
Applied Economics, Duckworth, London.
Rodrik, D. (2008), The Real Exchange Rate and Economic Growth, Brookings Papers on
Economic Activity, Fall 2008, pp. 365-412.
Szirmai, A. (2009). Industrialisation as an Engine of Growth in Developing Countries, 1950-2005, UNU-MERIT working paper, 2009-10.
Szimai and Verspagen (2011), Manufacturing and Economic Growth in Developing Countries,
1950-2005, UNU-MERIT Working Paper 2011-069.
Thomas, A. (2004) The Study of Development. Paper prepared for DSA Annual Conference,
6 November, Church House, London.
Review questions
1. How has modernization impacted on the development of the Caribbean region?
2. List and examine some indicating factors which have influenced the standard of living throughout the Caribbean.
3. What is some common sociological perspective on development?
4. Assess the perspectives identified above pros and cons..
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