Modernization theory pathologized resistance to Western influence as laggard traditionalism, not rational choice

Evidence

Lerner’s method of analysis was based on social scientific methods even while they reproduced Orientalist racist propositions. In the field of economics, Ragnar Nurkse’s “vicious circle of poverty” theory and W. W. Rostow’s “economic take-off” echoed similar assumptions. In the field of mass communication, Everett Rogers’s Diffusion of Innovations is about how new ideas could be spread in traditional societies. Rogers concluded that those who were not open to “innovation” introduced by the West were best understood as “laggards.” In short, those who resisted Western propaganda/“innovation” were seen not as individuals acting in their own interests or resisting imperial intervention but rather as hidebound traditionalists blocking progress. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 262

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Modernization theory pathologized non-Western societies as internally deficient — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 248; Modernization theory attributed underdevelopment to internal cultural deficits in the colonized — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 248; Modernization theory pathologized Middle Eastern people as lacking empathy — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 250 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Resistance to Western influence was pathological as backwardness rather than legitimate agency #corroborates (0.95)
• Modernization theory located blockage to progress inside non-Western societies #expands (0.80)
• Modernization theory blamed underdevelopment on internal cultural flaws within societies #expands (0.75)
• Modernization theory repackaged Orientalist racism in social-science guise #expands (0.72)