P. A NGCOBO (33195072)

Critically discuss women in development and development approaches. Which of these are most useful in the SA context?

The feminist development theory states that women in the development field are being ignored and they are not given the same treatment and roles as men, this theory has four different approaches under it, namely; Women in development (WID), Women and development (WAD), Gender and development (GAD) AND finally, postmodernism and development (PAD).

WID approach - this was introduced by Esther Boserup who is against the process of modernization and states that only countries that are economically capable can exploit women. The approach showed that women can also be included in the agricultural sector.

Women and development approach - this approach argues that Women should be included in the modernization process and emphasis the notion that there should be interaction between women and development, rather than them integrating into it. 

Gender and development - this approach looks at the knowledge and barriers gathered from WID and WAD for both men and women, its aim is to ensure that both genders benefit from development.

Postmodernism and development - whereas this approach criticizes WID for seeing women as victims of development and not seeing the diversity of third world women. it emphasizes the fact that every part of the world is different and so are the requirements for women.

I believe all of these approaches (Postmodernism, development & gender) are important in a South African context because they acknowledge the work put by women in the development and that it differs in each country.

COMPARE AND CONTRAST THE CORE TENETS OF THE MODERNIZATION AND DEPENDENCY THEORIES

Modernization "refers to a process of social, economic and cultural transformation in which a country 'evolves' from the under developed status to a modern society , following the prescriptions of the more developed countries" (Phajane, 2021). The modernization theory believes that the poor countries are poor because they are yet to develop into modern economies and that the failure is to do so largely, and this results from the internal factors like countries resistance to free market principles. The major tenets are:

-Social orders create through an arrangement of developmental stages;

-These stages are based on distinctive degrees and designs of social separation and reintegration of basic and social components that are practically congruous for the support of society.

-Modern making social orders are at a premodern arrange of advancement and they in the long run will accomplish financial development and will take on the social, political, and financial highlights of western European and North American social orders which have advanced to the most elevated arrange of social developmental improvement

Dependency theory focuses on how the developing countries are dependent to the developed countries. It started as a result of failure in Modernization (Phajane, 2021). This is a theory to understand the economic underdevelopment that presses the accepted constraints imposed by the global political and economic order. The unequal exchange relationship between developed and developing countries was viewed as contributing to poor economic growth .

The SIMILARITY in both of these theories is that- both their goal is to make sure the underdeveloped countries develop successfully and maintain themselves for a long time without being dependent to the Western rich countries.

P.A NGCOBO (33195072)

S.U3 PART 5 Question: Discuss any four factors that make-up the development, illustrating each with examples from the S.A'S context.

Development refers to the progress or transformation in a range of areas, which creates growth, progress, positive change or the addition of physical, economic, environmental, social and demographic components.

1) Growth and Structural Change

Development needs growth as well as structural change. The main focus of the economy's activity switches from the primary sector (farming), through the secondary sector(industries) and lastly the tertiary sector. Here less developed countries receive their national income through production in primary sector (mining, fishing, forestry), while developing countries generate their income mostly in secondary sectors and highly developed countries differ, because they have high income so the tertiary sector dominates the total output of the economy. For an example, South Africa has not made significant progress in transforming the structure of its economy, by some measures, it has regressed.

2) Modernization

This refers to a model of a progressive transition from a 'traditional' to a 'modern' society. Development theorists argue that development requires societies move traditional to modern societies through this process, and a country that can be qualified as modernized is when it has embraced modern and advanced technology. But this concept "modernization" as an indicator of development has been criticized because of diversities existing within one country. E.g South Africa is making efforts to modernize and transform its cities and create more inclusive productive and sustainable urban environment- it got boosted in signing an agreement with RAS (Reimburasable Advisory Services) giving away 11.25 million aimed at supporting the government. This project focuses on restructuring the fiscal and financial framework for cities.

3) Rural to Urban Migration

This process is associated with economic development and growth. There is an increase in migration patterns of rural to urban areas as development takes place, resulting from the changes in the labor markets in the urban industries. This migration improve the living standards of migrants- it is caused by pull factors like better job opportunities and education or even following family members who have migrated. In SA rural to urban migration is common because of Apartheid , many people seek better opportunities after it occurred. Now the issue of land is a critical one in post-apartheid. This migration in SA can cause unemployment if employed rural people migrate to the urban areas and stay there while remaining unemployed.

4) Improvements in education and health

Due to the changes in structure of the economy there is an increase and progress in education and health infrastructure. Education is crucial in development and growth. Both health and education play a potential role in the development of a country- which is a key to human capital accumulation and development process. There is a two-tier healthcare system in South Africa with a large subsidized public sector and a small, but high quality, private sector. With significant funding and the best specialists going to the private sector, there is a huge gap between public and private healthcare facilities in much of the country.

THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO SOCIAL PROBLEMS- Symbolic interactionist orientation and Postmodernist orientation.

1. Symbolic interactionist orientation is a theoretical approach where people build up their roles in society by communication, exchanging ideas and analyzing each other's behaviors. They do not follow certain rules set by the society on how to act - meaning they learn as they go on what is seen as wrong (mistakes) and as right. Here people strongly depend on symbols like words and gestures to comprehend their interactions and social problems appear through the reciprocal actions of individuals. The public observe the deviant behaviors from others- which can lead to crucial social problems that can offend the values of a certain powerful segment of a society.

2. Postmodernist orientation (theory) on the other hand is a belief that is tied in philosophy and cultural reactions to modern changes. It believes that people create knowledge by their own understandings of the world. Furthermore it states that reality should stay the way it is, this approach does not use old definitions to explain present situations. It is open to new theories, it is not strict by depending on specific beliefs. In sum postmodern theory sees reality as what people make it to be.

The similarity between symbolic interactionist and postmodernist theory is that they both depend heavily on what individual perceives as reality. They value human's perspectives and give them a platform to choose what can be social problems and learn from each other.

Lastly, the main difference on both approaches is that symbolic interactionist theory rely only on words and gestures of individuals to reach a common understanding, wheres postmodernist theory involves how humans view the reality, even as individuals without having to share ideas. Here objectivity is impossible, no absolute truths, traditional alternative views treated insignificant by science.