Modernization and Dependency theory

Modernization is a process of social, economic and cultural change in which a country moves from an underdeveloped status to a more developed status by following the prescriptions of the more developed countries. 

A country can be considered modern if:

- There are less rural areas

- There is a widespread access to goods and services which are features of productive economies with high standards of living 

- When people have political, economic and social freedom

- High literacy rates

- Energy to produce food comes from modern sources of energy rather than human and animals.

- Organizations are large scale, they reduce the dependence of family for child care, education and security. 

Dependency theory challenged the basic tenet of modernization theory that countries fail to modernize because they lack the values that first world countries posses which lead to modernization. Dependency theorists argue that third world countries are poor because they have been exploited by the first world countries and this exploitation evolved from colonialism.