The classical environmental theories erupted from the theories of early theorists who incorporated the environment in the theories of society which were influenced to serve as a basis for contemporary theory or as principles applied in contemporary theory.

Buckle Single factor theory which highlights the importance of the environment in order for nations to reach their peak. This environmental theory is useful in the South African context, as with warm climates comes more production of food and raw materials as the soil will be fertile when it rains.

Huntington’s single factor theory seeks to prove how the rise and fall of civilizations leads to the shift of climatic zones in historical periods through linking climate change and productivity with implications faced by nations over time. This is useful in the South African context; as industrial efficiency is measured by the units produced within a set period of time provided there is a productive climate.

Herbert Spencer’s single factor theory focuses on natural selection that includes survival of the fittest in the social world, where human beings struggle with and against other species for survival in the natural and social universe. In the South African context, individuals who succeed in business and industry through harsh dealings fall under natural selection.

Pollution is one anthropogenic cause of environmental problems that lead to global warming, thus causing a lot of environmental problems that are not only hazardous to the environment but also to humans and wild life. Global warming leads to climate change, which results in severe climatic conditions such as storms, heat, severe droughts, cold etc.

Some of the anthropogenic nature of environmental problems include the destruction of natural habitats. In the South African context, this is harmful to the environment, to wild-life and to human life, as forests, wetlands, the ocean current get destroyed and thus pose a threat to the species within that particular environment, as well as leads to a depletion of resources, infertility from pollution, floods, thus also creating health problems for human beings such as cancer, asthma etc.

Another environmental problem is the decline in fresh water which has been a global crisis which also affects South Africa. Water decline as a crisis is due to the over usage by communities and industrial operations; pollution; flooding; wastage etc.

Pollution is one anthropogenic cause of environmental problems that lead to global warming, thus causing a lot of environmental problems that are not only hazardous to the environment but also to humans and wild life. Global warming leads to climate change, which results in severe climatic conditions such as storms, heat, severe droughts, cold etc.

Some of the anthropogenic nature of environmental problems include the destruction of natural habitats. In the South African context, this is harmful to the environment, to wild-life and to human life, as forests, wetlands, the ocean current get destroyed and thus pose a threat to the species within that particular environment, as well as leads to a depletion of resources, infertility from pollution, floods, thus also creating health problems for human beings such as cancer, asthma etc.

Another environmental problem is the decline in fresh water which has been a global crisis which also affects South Africa. Water decline as a crisis is due to the over usage by communities and industrial operations; pollution; flooding; wastage etc.

The participatory development approach is the collaborative work between agents of development and communities. Participation is carried out as a way to collaborate to make communication more efficient and effective between community members and all of the stakeholders.

In the South African context, the government can be seen as a participatory organization, as it provides development incentives that aim at supporting, providing for and improving the community and its people. With the joint participation from both the government and its people, and it enables a partnership in the development process that aims at building the society.

Participation comes in the form of structural changes and the provision and access to resources to society as an empowerment strategy. The participatory development approach serves as a way of creating awareness and providing a platform for communities to voice out their needs in order to achieve development.

Feminism can be defined as the belief of equal rights, power and opportunities between men and women. The feminist development approaches include Women in Development (WID); Women and Development (WAD); Gender and Development (GAD); and Postmodernism and Development (PAD). The development approaches were established to illustrate how women and men are affected by development differently and to what extent women either benefit or do not benefit from development.

Firstly, the Women in Development approach (WID) was established as a way of giving women a voice and highlighted on gender issues during the international development regime. This approach pointed out the contradiction the development process had on women’s rights and status, as it led to a deterioration of women’s position in society. With the help of women such as Esther Boserup, women’s importance in the economy was voiced and noticed, for example: women’s importance in the economy of agriculture.

It focuses on the social, culture and economic factors that contribute to gender inequalities in society. This approach is useful in the South African context, as women are provided with equal access to resources and basic needs with an aim of improving women’s independence in the economy. Women in South Africa are also provided with more opportunities in education and employment, unlike in the past, women now have a right to education.

Secondly, Women and Development (WAD) focuses on the existing social relations between women and men. WID approach argued that women should be introduced into the modernization process, while the WAD approach argues that the introduction to modernization led to more women being poor.

Thirdly, Gender and Development (GAD) focuses on bringing together the lessons and limitations from the WID and WAD approaches, as it looks as the impact of development on both women and men. This approach can be used in the South African context, as it ensures that both men and women participate and benefit equally from development, thus emphasizing equality of benefit and control in development projects.

Lastly, Postmodernism and Development (PAD) focuses on achieving equality for women within the female gender, through taking note of the differences among women on the basis of class and race

Development can be defined as the progress of the economic, social and political transformation that contributes to growth, structural change and should distribute equity. The four factors that constitute to development that will be discussed include growth and structural change; distribution of income; rural to urban migration; and improvements in education and health.

Growth and structural change is essential in order for development to occur. It focuses on the shift of an economy’s activity throughout all the sectors of the economy, which are namely the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. The different state’s in their own development level get to generate income through each of these sectors of the economy, as less developed countries generate income through production in the primary sector; developing countries generate income through the secondary sector; and developed countries generate an income through the tertiary sector. With the South African context, South Africa falls under both the primary and secondary sectors, as they extract raw materials from nature and either export them or process them into manufactured products then exports them to other countries.

Distribution of income is essential for development to take place, as it focuses on achieving an even income distribution level that is fair for all. By achieving an even income distribution level, the growth and economic development of a country will thus increase. If South Africa was to implement this strategy, the growth and economic activity would increase thus resulting to an increase in development.

Rural to urban migration is essential for development to be achieved, as it focuses on the increase in migration patterns from rural to urban areas as a result from the changes in labour markets in urban industries. A lot of South Africans migrate from rural to urban areas as a result of seeking better employment and educational opportunities, etc. This leads to an increase in economic growth and development, improved standard of living, etc.

An improvement in educational and health is needed to achieve development in a country, as this focuses on the increase and progress of the infrastructure of health and education. An improved education and health is important in South Africa and any other country, as they are a measure of human capital development and essential in ensuring a long lifespan and in increasing economic growth. In South Africa the government has launched initiatives that aim at improving education and health such as the provision of free education and health facilities.

Poverty can be defined as a condition where an individual or community lacks the financial resources and the essential resources needed to maintain a minimum standard of living. The poverty line can be defined as the level of government standards that describe the minimum individual or household income that classifies an individual or household as poor.

As much as there are disadvantages of poverty for the individual and community such as social, economic, cultural and political exclusion, there are also benefits of poverty which include receiving assistance from the government through government incentives such as public goods and services, such as:social grants; public schools for free education; public clinics for free medical treatments; Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) which aims at providing free housing; there is no need to file for a tax return when earning a small income etc.

Other benefits of poverty include an increased skills development level in poor people, as they learn new skills through doing things themselves by accumulating the skill of how to unclog a drain, knowing how to sow, knowing how to fix things, cut hair, performing manual labour as a way of making money through rendering their services to other people; and that poor people are more resourceful, as they find creative and alternative ways to reach a solution, for example: reusing newspaper as an alternative for toilet paper.

Class Activity 
Question- Compare and contrast the core tenets of the modernisation and dependency theories

Modernisation theories believed that if Less Developed Countries (LDC’s) are to be developed they have to let go of the traditional-orientated cultures which are seen by modernisation theories as backward hindering the process of modernisation. The theory holds the concept that poor countries are poor because they are yet to develop into modern economies and that their failure to do so is largely because of internal factors such as the countries resistance to free-market principles or the absence of western values that drive material success.
Walt Whitman Rostow developed stages of growth within the modernisation theory, which include:
-all societies begin from a common baseline of traditional underdevelopment and undergoes a linear transformation along a development continuum of economic and social change from traditional to modern
-underdevelopment is viewed as an initial condition of LDC’s and for countries to become MDC’s they have to adopt the experiences of the North 
-emphasis is also placed on economic growth using indices such as GDP, therefore growth and development are seen as the same thing
-prior the implementation stage, modern and traditional societies reflect a dual economy existing side by side
Dependence can be defined as a situation where the development and expansion of one economy is at the expense of another economy to which the first is subjected. The Dependency Theory is the relation of interdependence between two or more economies. 
It was created in the 1960’s as an outcome of the failure of the modernisation theory to address the underdevelopment of the third world countries. Traditional dependency theory aims at achieving radical change in the country. It is a tool that can be used to effectively explain global inequalities. The theory challenges the basic tenet of the modernisation theory that countries fail to modernise because they lack the values that first world countries possess which lead to modernisation. 
The Dependency Theory advances that all contemporary societies are integrated into a single world economic system, which is capitalist. The theory argues that first world countries are poor because they have been and continue to be exploited by the first world countries and this exploitation evolved from colonialism. 
In a nutshell, the dependency theory aims at achieving a systematic change to solve the problems in the country caused by existing national and international economic and political systems. 

Poverty is socially defined as a condition where a community or person lacks financial resources and the necessary resources needed to maintain a minimum standard of living. However, experts in the Sociology field define poverty in their own way based on their research. 
According to Townsend (Townsend, 1979), poverty is defined in interrelation with the current standards of a society in regards with the society being able to determine the needs of its people, and which food is available. The population in a society can be seen to be in poverty when they lack the essential resources needed to acquire different diets, take part in particular activities, and achieve the living conditions and amenities that are conventional in the particular society they reside in. 
Peter Townsend has 60 specific types of deprivation listed, some of which include that a family can be seen to be in relative poverty when they have not had a week’s holiday away from home in the last 12 months; children have not had a friend to play with in the last 4 weeks; they have not had a cooked breakfast most days of the week; household does not have a refrigerator, etc. 
Townsend’s definition of poverty has been thoroughly critiqued and some of his items in his deprivation index were questioned, as the event could have been due to personal choice or cultural differences. 

Conflict Orientation and Feminism Orientation
Conflict can be defined as the inequality that occurs between two or more people. While Feminism Orientation can be defined as the advocacy of women’s rights based on the factor of inequality between men and women. 
In society, conflict exists when there is inequality based on factors such as social class, race, gender, etc. In order to combat conflict in society, change must arise that aims to eliminate or decrease inequality and establish a society that is egalitarian. Social conflict arises when one or more parties are viewed to be more superior than another, thus resulting into inequality in society based on the differences in race, gender and other factors. 
Feminism Orientation focuses on gender in its relation to power and inequality. The main purpose of Feminism Orientation is to provide a platform where women can give a voice that has been denied by science. Traditional science views a male’s perspective as objective, rational and instrumental, thus making it seem more superior. The Feminism Orientation strives to designate how a females’ perspective is subjective, empathetic, inclusive and relational, thus strives to reject all sexism in science and research. 

Depression

​​​Depression is indeed a social problem, because it is seen as both a social problem and as one of the major internal causes that lead to individuals being involved in acts that result in social problems. Depression is a mental illness that can result into individuals physically and emotionally abusing other people for example, it can lead to rape and smash-and-grab. 

Smash-and-grab

Smash-and-grab can be seen as a social problem, as it is harmful to many people. Acts of smash-and-grab are a form of violence, for example, motor vehicle accidents and theft. This can sometimes result from the social problem of depression, as the depressed mood can lead to an individual wanting to find new ways to escape from their problems, thus resulting to theft or being suicidal which can lead to an increase in motor vehicle accidents. 

Rape

Rape is a major social problem we deal with on a daily basis. It can be defined as an non-consensual sexual behavior. Rape does not only create a dangerous environment, but it also hinders what we believe society should be, which is a safe society for all individuals.

Fast food 

Fast food is indeed a social problem. It not only endangers the lives of animals, but also endangers the lives of human beings. Fast food reduces the quality of a healthy diet and provides unhealthy food options among humans thus leading into an increase in the rate of obesity. 

HIV/AIDS 

HIV/AIDS is a social problem, as it has both social and economic challenges on the economy. People infected with HIV/AIDS may be unable to complete their daily work to their best ability. This would result in a decline in the development of a country.