Development and Sociology
A Theoretical Analysis
Saa’duddin, K.A.M., AU
Chapter | 19
Year of Publication | 2024
Imprint |
The University Press Limited (UPL)
Abstract
This chapter is a translation of a keynote speech provided at the annual conference of the Bangladesh Sociological Association in 1990 by one of the eminent Sociologists of the country. In the author’s opinion, in the wake of World War II, third world countries entered a new phase of underdevelopment following the political withdrawal of the colonial yoke. Many of these countries achieved national independence through negotiation and mutual understanding with imperialist powers, which raised high hopes in the mind of poverty-stricken millions that by such understanding they might improve their economy in the shortest possible time. The Sociology of Development emerged in the backdrop of these rising expectations to address multifarious developmental reforms. But the theoretical foundation of this new academic enterprise remained engulfed, at its initial stage, in the reformist euphoria of the theories of modernization. At the same time, the developed countries steadily developed further in the process of scientific excellence achieved through their relentless academic and intellectual effort, as well as by maintaining firm control over international trade. In this context, it is the concept of underdevelopment that more appropriately explains the conditions obtained in third world countries today. This concept as such is gradually gaining a solid theoretical foundation. An analysis of the historical role of colonialism vis-a-vis the phasic development of capitalism clearly brings out the case of the utter helplessness of the third world countries. In their attempt to achieve any significant development, they are getting more and more mired in dependence. The chapter tries to delineate the precise character of this miserable plight.
Copyright information
Copyright © UPL 1975 - 2024
About this chapter
Saa’duddin, K.A.M., AU. Development and Sociology: A Theoretical Analysis. Dhaka, Bangladesh. https://dx.doi.org/10.59212/9789845064071_19
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.59212/9789845064071_19
Year of Publication
2024
Publisher Name
The University Press Limited (UPL)
Imprint
The University Press Limited (UPL)
Language
English
BISAC 1
SOC004019
Edition No.
01