The Global Divide

Periphery- poor developing countries.

In some parts of the world,

people dedicate their lives to fighting
starvation.

Coping Mechanism-ways in which the

desperately poor attempt to control
their hunger.

Dependency theory-states that even

as developing countries make
economic advances, they remain weak
and subservient to core nations and
corporations in an increasingly
intertwined global economy.

Example:

Eritrean women will strap flat

stones to their stomachs to lessen
their hunger pangs.
In Mozambique, people eat the
grasshoppers that have destroyed
their crops, calling them flying
shrimp
Some eat dirt to add minerals to
their health, though it is a
pathological condition called
pica.

The Legacy of Colonialism

Colonialism-occurs when a foreign
power maintains political, social,
economic and cultural domination
over a people for an extended period,
in short, it is ruled by outsiders.
Neocolonialism-dependence on more
industrialized nations and foreign
domination.
Drawing on a conflict
perspective, Wallerstein (1974, 1979,
2000), has described the unequal
economic and political relationship in
which certain industrialized nations
and their global corporations dominate
the core of this system.
Semiperiphery-countries with marginal
economic status.

Core nations and their corporations

control and exploit noncore
nations economies.

Globalization-the worldwide
integration of government policies,
cultures, social movements, and
financial markets through trade and
the exchange of ideas.
Multinational Corporations
Multinational Corporations-commercial
organizations that are headquarted in
one country but do business
throughout the world
Functionalist View
Functionalists believe that
multinational corporations can actually
help the developing nations of the
world. They bring jobs and industry to
areas where subsistence agriculture
once served as the only means of
survival. Multinational corporations
also make the nations of the world
more interdependent. These ties may
prevent certain disputes from reaching
the point of serious conflict.
Conflict View
They emphasize that
multinationals exploit local worker to
maximize profits. Conflict theories
conclude that on the whole

multinational corporations have a

negative social impact on workers in
both industrialized and developing
nations

Worldwide Poverty
Poverty is a worldwide problem
that blights the lives of billions of
people.
Gross National Product-the value of a
nations goods and services.

Direct government to government

foreign aid is only one way of
alleviating poverty.

uneven rates, the development of

peripheral countries will be
assisted by innovations transferred
from the industrialized world.
Current modernization studies
generally take a convergence
perspective. Researchers focus on
how societies are moving closer
together, despite traditional
differences.
From a conflict perspective, the
modernization of developing
countries often perpetuates their
dependence on and continued
exploitation by more industrialized
nations. Conflict theorists view
such continuing dependence of
foreign powers as an example of
contemporary neocolonialism.

Modernization

Cutting Poverty Worldwide

Contemporary social scientists

use the term modernization to
describe the far-reaching process by
which periphery nations move from
traditional or less developed
institutions to those characteristic of
more developed societies.

Millennium Project-whose objective is

to eliminate extreme poverty
worldwide by the year 2015.

Modernization (Wendell Bell, 1981)notes that modern societies tend to be

urban, literate, and industrial. These
societies have sophisticated
transportation and media systems.

2. Achieve universal primary

education.

4. Reduce child mortality.

Modernization also suggests

positive change.
Modernization theory- a
functionalist approach that
proposes that modernization and
development will gradually improve
the lives of people in developing
nations. According to this theory,
even though countries develop at

Objectives:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and
hunger.

3. Promote gender equality and

empower women.

5. Improve maternal health.

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and
other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.

8. Develop a global partnership for

development.
Distribution of Wealth and Income
Global inequality is staggering.
Worldwide, the richest 2% of adults
own more than half the worlds
household wealth. In at least 22
nations around the world, the most
affluent 10% of the population
receives at least 40% of all income.
The list includes the African nation of
Namibia, as well as Colombia, Mexico,
Nigeria and South Africa.

Stratification within Nations: A

Comparative Perspective
Stratification in developing
nations is closely related to their
relatively weak and dependent
position in the global economy. Local
elites work hand in hand with
multinational corporations and prosper
from such alliances. At the same time,
the economic system creates and
perpetuates the exploitation of
industrial and agricultural workers.
Thats why foreign investment in
developing countries tends to increase
economic inequality.
Social Mobility
Studies of intergenerational mobility in
industrialized nations have found the
following patterns:
1. Substantial similarities exist in the
ways that parents positions in
stratification systems are transmitted
to their children.

2. As in United States, mobility

opportunities in other nations have
been influenced by structural factors,
such as labor market changes that
lead to the rise or decline of an
occupational group within the social
hierarchy.
3. Immigration continues to be a
significant factor in shaping a societys
level of intergenerational mobility.
Mobility in Developing Nations
Mobility patterns in
industrialized countries are usually
associated with intergenerational and
intragenerational mobility. However, in
developing nations, macro-level social
and economic changes often
overshadow micro-level movement
from one occupation to another. In
large developing nations, the most
socially significant mobility is the
movement out of poverty. This type of
mobility is difficult to measure and
confirm, however, because economic
trends can differ from one area of a
country to another.
Gender Differences and Mobility
Many aspects of the
development process-especially
modernization in rural areas and the
rural-to-urban migration just
described-may result in the
modification or abandonment of
traditional cultural practices and even
marital systems. The effects on
womens social standing and mobility
are not necessarily positive. As a
country develops and modernizes,
womens vital role in food production
deteriorates, jeopardizing both their

autonomy and their material wellbeing. Moreover, the movement of

families to the cities weakens womens

ties to relatives who can provide food,

financial assistance and social
support.