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Modernization of Traditional Societies:
A Way to Prosperity or a Road to Nowhere?

Linetsky A.I.,

Cand. Sci. (Phys.-Math.), political scientist, businessman, linetskyalexander@hotmail.com

elibrary_id: 941066 |

DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2017.04.09

Rubric: DIXI!

For citation:

Linetsky A.I. Modernization of Traditional Societies: A Way to Prosperity or a Road to Nowhere? – Polis. Political Studies. 2017. No. 4. https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2017.04.09

Abstract

Modernization is a process of renovation of traditional societies. It has two different modes. The first is the mode of renovation – so-called “modernization in a classical sense” – deemed to be connected with a deep change in a style of exercise of political power. Political actors try to avoid using violence to achieve dominance over other individuals and to use mainly law methods as tools for managing social interactions. This change became possible due to a relevant replacement of behavior patterns in the political class of society. As a result, traditional society has been transformed into a modern society. There are a few features typical to modern societies: industrial development, urbanization, secularization, rationalism, decreasing rates of birth and death, total literacy and culture revolution. These features have been naturally caused by a change of political institutions. The second mode of renovation is so-called “modernization that is bypassing the Modern”. In these cases, political class tried to give some features of a modern society to a traditional one artificially, without any change in a style of exercise of political power and in its behavior patterns. As a result, social hybrids were born, which are a virtual blend of new and ancient features. We argue that the second mode of modernization has no future due to the fact that traditional societies are closed and rigid; they have no room for evolutional searching of new approach to managing of social life. In the absence of a source of new knowledge, they are bound to become obsolete. 

Keywords

modernization; a traditional society; a modern society; catch up modernization; totalitarian modernization; violence; social orders; behavior patterns; political and economic institutions; design of institutions.

 Full Text 

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