The modernization in new perspectivein search of the model's ability

Resumo

This paper represents an attempt to purge contemporary social science, and particularly the theory of modernization, of the residues of nineteenth century metaphysical evolutionism. According to the author, the writings about modernization can be placed on a continuum, the poles of which can be called Theory N and Theory P. The main assumption of Theory N, as far as modernization is concerned, is that there is a law of historical necessity that pushes every society to try to attain the stage occupied by the so-called developed or modernized societies. These societies show the so-called developing societies the image of their future. Consequently, with this understanding, the authors of Theory N refer to dichotomies such as developed versus developing nations, and "referent" versus "follower" societies. Ordinarily, many that talk about "obstacles to development" or "prerequisites of modernization" are conditioned by the deterministic assumptions of Theory N, by a frozen archetype of modernization, more or less identified with the present stage of Western Europe or of United States. On the other hand, in relation to modernization, Theory P has two main characteristics: it supposes that modernity is not located in any part of the world; that the process of modernization is not to be oriented to any Platonic archetype; and it holds that any nation, whatever its contemporary configuration, always has its own possibilities of modernization, the implementation of which can be disturbed by the superimposition of a frozen, normative model, extrinsic to those possibilities. The author observes that Warren Bennis and Robert Chin ask correct1y for theories of changing instead of theories of change. The author thinks that this question can be answered only by a concrete and existential social science, based on the possibility model, some of whose guidelines he presents in this paper.

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Artigo científico

Ano

1983

Instituição

Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas da Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EBAPE)

Fonte

Revista de Administração Pública

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Não informado

Identificador

oai:ojs.periodicos.fgv.br:article/11291