Student Number: 2020-09411-MN-0 Date: December 03, 2021

Name: Salazar, Mary Rose C. Section: BAPE 2-2

Summary of Walt W. Rostow's 5 stages of Growth

Various theories have been proposed to explain the actual meaning of
development and why certain countries are deemed developed while others are not, and
Rostow's Stage of Development is one of them. This theory assumes that because the
west was wealthier and more powerful than other nations at the time, modernization was
linked to them. As a result, many people believe that all countries should strive for a
contemporary state of capitalism and liberal democracy. Rostow’s book "The Stages of
Economic Growth," outlined five stages that nations must go through to become
developed, claiming that countries should dwell somewhere along this linear spectrum
and go higher at each phase.
According to Rostow’s paradigm, the first stage of growth is traditional society
which is characterized by subsistence, an agricultural-based economy, strict labor and
minimum levels of commerce, and people without a scientific view on the world and
technology (Jacobs, n.d.). It is considered to have mostly unchanging technology that sets
a limit on the amount of production per person that may be achieved. The whole pre-
Newtonian world and those post-Newtonian cultures in which contemporary science and
technology are not used frequently and systematically grouped in such societies
(Cairncross, 2013, 452).
Prerequisites for take-off follow, which include the development of industry and a
shift in focus from regional to national or worldwide (Jacobs, n.d.). For some born-free
countries and Europe, it is about railroad construction and a profitable shift from
agriculture to manufacturing. While for traditional societies, an increase in stable
investment is required and should visibly surpass population growth. Thus, this is just a
portion of the picture. Agriculture must provide more food for the developing cities, and
the higher wages generated. By increasing agricultural production, wider market for
manufactured goods and a greater flow of savings may occur (Cairncross, 2013, 452).
Then it will take off, which Rostow refers to as a "decisive breakthrough" in which
compound interest is incorporated into society's structure. If interest is allowed to
compound with the principal, Rostow suggests that growth will follow a geometric trend,
like a savings account. Moreover, take-off is expected to take place for around 20 years
following nine countries, including Russia, that had taken flight by 1914. Later, it will go
through a period of expansion and diversification known as the "Drive to Maturity," which
is likely to take 60 years from take-off. This stage is also expected to improve living
standards and increase technological usage. Furthermore, it is characterized as the
period when a society successfully applied the spectrum of contemporary technology to
most of its resources back then.
Finally, there would be the Age of High Mass Consumption, which Rostow
predicted would be populated by Western countries, notably the United States (Jacobs,
n.d.). This stage involves three goals: the pursuit of external power and influence; a
welfare state and less vigorous endeavor to maximize output; and an increase in
consumption levels, mainly through the mass purchase of durable goods. The third goal
indicates the beginning of the period of high mass consumption. Thus, the stage does not
always follow maturity. For instance, in British countries demonstrate that a certain level
of money per head is also necessary; on the other hand, other nations’ high mass
consumption could be attained before technical maturity (Cairncross, 2013, 452).
This theory’s reasoning was based on the industrialization and urbanization of
western capitalist nations, while being a staunch anti-communist and right-winger. In
addition, Rostow’s model is recognized as the most referenced development theory and
a prime illustration of the convergence of geography, economics, and politics. However,
this theory faced various criticisms towards his bias towards a western model as the only
path towards development. The publication of Rostow's "non-communist manifesto" has
already sparked a heated debate that isn't limited to economic historians (Cairncross,
2013, 450). One of the flaws pointed out was that he did not propose any model of the
interaction of the factors at each stage. Also, there is no description of the subsequent
stages that would allow them to be identified using reliable criteria. Lastly, critics state that
one of the major flaws is that he broods on what comes beyond wealth in his final stage,
but he doesn't say what phases are yet to come, and he rapidly moves away from the
unknown concerns of the future to focus on the dilemmas of the present (Cairncross,
2013, 451).
 References

Cairncross, A. K. (2013). Factors in Economic Development. Routledge.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/2599515

Jacobs, J. (n.d.). International Development Patterns, Strategies, Theories & Explanations|

GEOG 128: Geography of International Affairs. John A. Dutton e-Education

Institute. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.e-

education.psu.edu/geog128/node/719