I am here to talk about a term pertinent to post-colonial studies, dependency

theory.
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Background
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Definition
Dependency theory of course as the term suggests about dependence but what it
articulates and expresses is this idea that the under development in the so-called
third world and the developing world isn't necessarily because of the internal
causes or because of the general malaise of those local cultures but rather the
global economic system is developed and maintained in a way that according to
that system certain parts of the world have to be kept in check have to be
impoverished for the North Atlantic regions to be successful and be as
prosperous as they are and that they depend on this poverty elsewhere in the
world to sustain their own economies.
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Premises
 The premises of dependency theory are that poor nations provide natural
resources, cheap labour, a destination for obsolete technology, and markets
for developed nations, without which the latter could not have the standard
of living they enjoy.
 Wealthy nations actively perpetuate a state of dependence by various means.
 This influence may be multifaceted, involving economics, media control,
politics, banking and finance, education, culture, and sport.
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A reaction to modernization theory
The theory arose as a reaction to modernization theory, an earlier theory of
development which held that all societies progress through similar stages of
development, that today's underdeveloped areas are thus in a similar situation to
that of today's developed areas at some time in the past, and that, therefore, the task
of helping the underdeveloped areas out of poverty is to accelerate them along this
supposed common path of development, by various means such
as investment, technology transfers, and closer integration into the world market.
Dependency theory rejected this view, arguing that underdeveloped countries are
not merely primitive versions of developed countries, but have unique features
and structures of their own; and, importantly, are in the situation of being the
weaker members in a world market economy.[2]
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Criticism
Dependency theory has been criticized by free-market economists such as Peter
Bauer and Martin Wolf and others. The chunks of their criticism are as follows:
 Lack of competition: By subsidizing in-country industries and preventing
outside imports, these companies may have less incentive to improve their
products, to try to become more efficient in their processes, to please
customers, or to research new innovations.
 Sustainability: Industries reliant on government support may not be
sustainable for very long, particularly in poorer countries and countries
which largely depend on foreign aid from more developed countries.
 Domestic opportunity costs: Subsidies on domestic industries come out of
state coffers and therefore represent money not spent in other ways, like
development of domestic infrastructure, seed capital or need-based social
welfare programs. At the same time, the higher prices caused by tariffs and
restrictions on imports require the people either to forgo these goods
altogether or buy them at higher prices, forgoing other goods.
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Conclusion
Dependency theory is discussed and criticized by different researchers and
thinkers. To conclude, dependency theory has different view of angle discussion. A
group of thinkers predicts that it is a process of development and a collaborative
approach to change a scarcity situation of poor counties. Another group of thinkers
argue that dependency is a kind of threat of independence to a ‘Third World’
country or its population.