Westernization And Modernization

To begin with, modernity is a term that “signals a particular kind of society that only came into existence over the past 200 years or so, first in Western Europe, then elsewhere. Modernization refers to a society that is moving toward modernity.” (Veeser, p. 3) There is a close association between modernization and westernization because “earlier ideas assumed that modernization was in fact Westernization.” (Veeser, p. 3) Western Europe was the first to act in the process of modernization which included urbanization, widespread literacy, usage of inanimate power, rising per capita income, and the widespread participation of populate in political affairs along with the West’s rational and scientific orientations toward the world. When this

process of modernization began, it only occurred in Western Europe, so less developed countries viewed it as Westernization. Modernization and Westernization are associated with each other because at first they meant the same thing, but that relationship began to change as the periphery wanted to become more advanced.
Now that less developed countries want to catch up with the west and become more advanced, modernization cannot be reduced to a “simple replication of Western experiences.” (Veeser, p.

4) The relationship between modernization and westernization has changed from meaning the same thing to meaning two separate ideas. Westernization can now be classified as the process of incorporating western ideas, beliefs and cultures into societies. The relationship between the two is that you have to find the right balance between modernization and westernization to create a sufficient hybrid society. Countries would like to keep most of their own culture and ideas but still want to modernize and incorporate western ideas so they need to find the right balance. Every country is different so finding the right balance of modernization and westernization is different for everyone. For example, Porfirio Diaz wanted a modern Mexico just like Mustafa Kemal wanted a modern Turkey but the societies they imagined and created were very different meaning that modernity varies from country to country. Finding the right balance of modernization and westernization can be difficult and can lead to serious

consequences.
Consequences can be life-and-death if countries don't find a stable balance of modernization and westernization. Consequences like discrimination, economic depression and civil unrest. All modernizing countries face the consequences, but not being able to handle it makes it life-and-death. For example, Porfirio Diaz is the most famous modernizer in Latin America for his contribution to Mexico, but left it disordered because could not find the right balance between modernization and westernization. Mexico was pressured to push towards modernity by the United States in the 1890s, which made Diaz strictly focus on economic modernization.
Diaz faced multiple obstacles and rushing into economic modernization made Mexico worse in the long run. Mexico was lacking in “productive export-oriented agriculture, adequate legal protections for property, political stability, a robust home market for consumer goods, a system of banks that made capital easily available, and low entry costs for manufacturers.” (Veeser, p. 43) Diaz push forward, ignoring many obstacles creating an import-substitution industrialization system which meant raising import tariffs high enough so that local factories could produce the goods more cheaply. Diaz had created many factories which made modernizers happy, but made ordinary citizens unhappy. Factories were built to make goods cheaply yet locally made goods were expensive because factory owners did to have to worry about underselling imports. Diaz made another policy that improved “Mexico’s macroeconomic posture made life harder for the poor majority.” (Veeser, p. 50) This policy has created civil unrest with citizens not being able to purchase local goods and workers protesting due to terrible working conditions and low pay. Diaz had many consequences because he couldn't find the right balance of modernization and westernization due to a strict focus on economic modernization leaving Mexico civilly unrest.
Some people wanted to find alternatives to Western notions of modernization and modernity like Henry Ford. Henry Ford was the richest man in the world due to his creation of automobiles and decided to use his money and build an industrial town in the Amazon Rainforest in 1928 which is an alternative that has never been done before. Henry Ford wanted to grow rubber trees in the Amazon so he has his own supply to use for tires for his cars but Grandin wrote Fordlandia with the underlying cause that Ford created Fordlandia to make his own utopian like society. Ford wanted to modernize the region and create a “great industrial city” (Grandin, p. 134) by building many factories to supply jobs, housing for its workers, education for the worker’s children, supplying high-wages, building a sewage system, pipe-system for water, electrical system, hospitals, railroads and restricting alcohol. This utopian view of society was chaos at Fordlandia. Similar to Porfirio Diaz, Ford rushed into this plan without finding the right balance which led to its downfall. There were problems everywhere in Fordlandia.
Diseases like yellow fever and malaria were deadly and everyone in Fordlandia had at least one disease.

By the end of 1929, “ninety people had been buried in the company cemetery…most of the deaths were from malnutrition and common disease” (Grandin, p. 163) Poor housing and working conditions started riots, prohibition was poorly enforced, deadly animals attacked the workers, many workers were criminals and started problems, worker death rate was high and the company was losing workers three times faster then it was hiring and the problems just keep going on. Ford began Fordlandia without fully knowing how to run it by not understanding how the latex tree prosper, not understanding the proper time to work, making workers work like they were in Detroit, designing and building the town without looking at local conditions and overall it was a poorly designed plan. Ford’s intentions of creating Fordlandia were right but not understanding how to modernize the region properly is what led to its

downfall.