W.W Rostow was an American economist and government official who based his models on the concept of the modernization of the western world, which was wealthier and more powerful than the other regions of the world at the time. He was adamant that the other countries can also advanced themselves from a state of under development to a “modern state of capitalism and a liberal democracy.
In 1960, Rostow wrote the stages of Economic Growth a process that he believed that every country must pass through to become independent. 1. Traditional Society – based on an agricultural economy, with intensive labor and little trading and a population that does not have scientific perspectives on the world and technology. 2. Reconditions to take out – Countries have a better outlook in regards to develop manufactory national and internationally instead of just locally. 3. Take-off – A short period of intensive growth and industrialization whereas worker and institutions is focused on a new industry. 4. Drive to Maturity – Which develops over a long period, whereas, the national economy grows and diversifies, the advancement of technology and improved standard of living.
Age of High Mass consumption
Countries should shape themselves after the United States did and flourishes in capitalist system characterized by mass production and consumerism.
W. Arthur Lewis was a Stlucian enconomist who believed that a country is overpopulated when its population exceeds the capacity of it (natural resources to support that particular population size. His focused was on agriculture and a called for greater specialization in this area.
Lewis wrote a theory based on the economic reality of the Caribbean
The two sectors is Traditional and Modern 1. Traditional – sticked to the old way of doing agriculture, which can be labour intensive, and time consuming, resulting in low productivity and wages. 2. Modern – Moving away from the labour intensive way of doing agriculture and invest more in bringing the Caribbean up to par with the western way of producing good.
Lewis believed that special attention should be paid in these two sectors, which can move the Caribbean away from poverty and into a much, more productive and modern industrial sector by raising output profit. Moving away from the slow labour intensive industry a faster productive industry with modern equipment and better wages, which would in turn, improved the standard of living for people in the Caribbean.
Lloyd Best a Trinidadian and K Polanyi Levitt wrote models based around the exploitation of the Caribbean Islands and the plantation system where the plantation had autonomy and was only interested in short term goals, rather than investments and long-term development.
Two main plantation economy phases were mentioned; A Golden Age and An Age of Decline.
The Golden Age – the Europeans for mass production and profits overtook the Caribbean Countries. Produce was manufactured on a large scale on every piece of land to be exported, under the harsh conditions of slavery. There was no growth in the Caribbean economy because everything was shipped out to make the European countries richer. The locals was put under slavery to produce these produce with little or no pay, nothing was given back to the country.
The Age of Decline – Plantation economy enters it age of decline, where as better wages had had to be paid for labour, land was exhausted, rent had to be paid for land, substitute product was cheaper than what was in the Caribbean, so production slowed down, Investor moved to regions of the world where business was more profitable