Compare and contrast the core tenets of Modernization and Dependency theories

Modernization is the process by which a country progresses from pre-industrial to post-industrial status. Modernization theorists felt that in order for less developed countries to advance, they must abandon traditional-oriented cultures, which are viewed as backward and delaying the process of modernization. They believe that poor countries are poor because they have yet to develop into modern economies, and that their failure to do so is due to internal issues such as countries' opposition to free market ideas. In contrast, the underdevelopment of Third-world countries is addressed by Dependency theory. It denies the core concept of modernization theory that countries fail to modernize because they lack the values that contribute to modernization in first-world countries. According to the Dependency theory, poor countries are poor because they have been and continue to be exploited by first-world nations, and this exploitation began with colonialism.