9_Law and State_Volume 17

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UNDERDEVELOPMENT, DEPENDENCIA, AND
MODERNIZATION THEORY
by
Professor Dr. J ohann Hellwege
University o f Bielefeld
Some Observations on the Theoretical Discussion o f the Past Decade
The first decade of the predominance of the concept “dependencia” in
the Latin-American social sciences is coming to a close. The spread of the
concept of dependencia to explain underdevelopment well beyond Latin
America was frequently considered the end of the series of the theories of
development which predominated up into the 1960’s and which, in general
usage, were classified under the collective concept of “theories of
modernization”. Since then, sceptical voices have been loudly raised warning
against an overestimation of the explanatory value of “dependencia”
and counselling a return to scholarly common sense. The frequendy emotional
controversy between the “dependencistas” and modernization theorists
has contributed little toward an objective analysis of contemporary
Latin-American developmental problems. All too frequently empirical
evidence has been the first victim of the dispute. Used as a new paradigm,
“dependencia” has often degenerated into a pseudoconcept which tries to
explain everything in general and hence could explain nothing in particular.
As a “deus ex machina”, “dependencia” had to be made to explain
every phenomenon which in some way appeared “false” or “harmful”
within the framework of Latin-American social development. Abusing
this concept by absolutizing it - when it otherwise could have been used
to good avail by selectively applying it — has been called, with some
justification, a variety of Latin-American nationalism or madnsmo. Non-
Latin-American, in particular German, social scientists and full-time
ideologues, however, have also done their bit toward greatly over-working
what was originally only a tentative, descriptive category rather than