Theories of Modernization: Globalization in the west vs. Africa (Research Paper Sample)

Globalization
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Introduction
Globalization is the process of interaction and integration among people, governments, companies and other entities on a global level. The process is meant to bring human cooperation and unity internationally. Until recently, globalization was not seen as a much relevant term to use. However, globalization is not a new thing as the series of events from the early nineteenth century present a globalized world. Modernization has been in progress for over 100 years; it focuses on improving the cities as well as the infrastructure. It is in itself a form of globalization.
Modernization has brought about an interconnection among nations and has made the world a ‘small village.' Today's globalization has been brought mainly by trade, which is an exchange of goods or commodities that other countries do not have and the changing technologies that have aided globalization. It has not only been seen as an every country's way of survival but also has created massive changes in the world that we now live in CITATION Don08 \l 1033 (Boudrex 2008).
The paper seeks to understand modernization and globalization by exploring information and findings from authors. Modernization theories are significant in understanding the subject as well as globalization in Africa. African countries are still developing, and thus globalization is a real deal in Africa. Frank (2009) and Bauer (2013) clearly outline information regarding globalization in Africa.
Theories of modernization
Modernization after the Second World War was done on two bases, the Functionalist and the Marxist exploitation modernization theories. The functionalist theory was based on the fact that every part of the society contributes to the whole. Under modernization, all countries and corporations were supposed to contribute to the act of globalization. Everybody was expected to take his/her part in changing the world. It was a collaborative process. After world war two, different companies had risen in the various countries having to produce different products that they were raw materials endowed. CITATION Une09 \l 1033 (Frank 2009)
African countries were mostly endowed with natural resources with things such as precious minerals and animal skins. With this came the part Africa had to play a part in the development of the modern world. Colonialists had formed ways of trading the commodities they got from their colonies to their mother countries. They traded the commodities from Africa with guns, technology, and clothes, products that only the west could produce. This brought about interactions and developments that were experienced all through the African continent. CITATION Une09 \l 1033 (Frank 2009)
Individual countries from the Africa, as well as their colonialists from the West, took part in what was termed as the beginning of the modern world. Trade routes such the trans-Atlantic and the Indian Ocean ones had major boosts on the economies of the lands they passed through. Trade centers became major global cities with large ports and transport means. Countries such as Togo, Guinea, Nigeria and Ivory Coast initially developed from the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean which immensely led to their growth. These west countries transported their commodities to Europe, America, and Asian countries. CITATION PTB13 \l 1033 (Bauer 2013)
Like Nigeria, the West Africa is a major producer of crude oil traded with other World countries. It is one of the major oil producing region in Africa. Port Harcourt, a region used during the colonialism trade has a major oil refinery in the country. It is said that the oil production contributes 14% of the Nigerian economy. Apart from oil, the country exports Cocoa, wood, and Oilseeds that are traded in the European and Asian markets. In return the country imports frozen milk, wheat, sugar plus other commodities, the world market would not be big as it is. The contribution is as well equally done by the east, south, west and central African regions. CITATION PTB13 \l 1033 (Bauer 2013)
African regions had also come together and formed United trade blocs. These are organizations that are meant to control trade in the area and to the outside world. These are Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East Africa Community (EAC) and South African Development Community (SADC).These blocks control the interactions of their African member states regulating the trade within and out of their region. They do this by prioritizing their countries trade by ensuring that first, they create their produce to available, controlling the market barriers and also market prices. With this comes a favorable market that serves the economies of their member countries. These trade blocs have seen developments in African regions and the unity of African markets creating a common voice in the global market CITATION jef97 \l 1033 (Frankiel 1997)
The Marxist exploitation theory was based on Karl Marx exploitation theory under capitalism. He argued that the ultimate source of profit and the driving force behind capitalist production that could lead to major developments was to come from poorly or unpaid labor of workers. With this, he meant that poor conditions of workers could lead to modernization. This was a result of fewer expenses with higher outputs. Workers worked in producing companies that paid them low wages, some of them employed cheap child labor while some paid no wages at all. It was forced labor and slavery. CITATION Une09 \l 1033 (Frank 2009)
Slavery was first experienced in Africa with the coming of colonialism. Africans were forced to work on a large plantation that the white men established in their grabbed lands. They had discovered that cheap and readily available labor would be easily located in the black continent. They came under the first impression of missionaries but later forced Africans out of their land. With large masses of land, they made plantations of wheat, tea, coffee and some turned them into ranches. Prior owners of land could be turned into slaves to work in these plantations under poor conditions and little or no pay. This was experienced in all African colonies. CITATION PTB13 \l 1033 (Bauer 2013)
African continent in the modern world is said to experience most of these labor exploitation incidences compared to other regions. This is because more countries in Africa are still economically and politically unstable and has become difficult for human rights activists to fight the same. The estimates of African forced labor are very high as at 2016. Women and children are the mainly affected working in domestic sectors, farming, construction sites, and fisheries among others. Most of them are forced to work in these places because of poverty levels, and this provides opportunities for the interested organizations to exploit them. They work for longer hours and are paid low wages. CITATION Dan01 \l 1033 (Harmon 2001)
The cocoa industry in West Africa is just one case of those industries that have largely profited from the utilization of forced labor. After the abolition of the slave trade by the Portuguese in the 1990s the industry has then returned the practice aided by legal loopholes and corrupt officials. The sector has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry and still cannot let go its antislavery issues. Present day cocoa farms employ hundreds of children who have to work under unfavorable working conditions and very low wages. However, because they come from developing countries some of them have to persevere the same. CITATION Dan01 \l 1033 (Harmon 2001)
Globalization in the west vs. Africa
Modern globalization is yet to be equal in all word regions. There are still noticeable differences between Europe and American continents as compared to African ones. Some are termed as less developed while the others are the developed countries. The developed countries trade economies seem to perform extraordinarily well as compared to the less developed ones. It seems African countries import more than they export and hence have decreasing incomes and increasing debts. CITATION Bri11 \l 1033 (Turner 2011)
Countries like China have imported its skilled labor to almost all countries. With the country able to equip its population with technical skills the country is becoming a major trade giant in the world market. Most of the African infrastructural developments have to rely on the labor market from the country as well as machinery and steel. African countries have experienced poor political management in spite the mass resources that the countries have. There are large corruption levels in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria, and political instabilities in countries such as Somalia and DRC. Congo the countries still depend on the West for aids and grants. CITATION Bri11 \l 1033 (Turner 2011)
With some of the biggest countries terming themselves as the superpowers, they have managed to control the global platform to their advantage. Countries like America, Russia, and Germany, exploit smaller countries like those from Africa in their transactions. Their trade and interactions are biased and imbalanced with them ensuring they export more than they import and also valuing their currencies more in the global market. It is a result that their products have become more expensive to acquire an example being the machinery and the pharmaceuticals CITATION Bri11 \l 1033 (Turner 2011)
Most of the African countries are neo-colonized. West foreign countries mostly exploit mineral resources. They do not appear to have the necessary resources and expertise to exp...