Question

Arguments against Rostow Stages of development model

Answer 1

Rostow's model postulates that economic growth occurs in five basic stages of varying lenth and they are traditional society,preconditions for take off ,take -off ,drive to maturity and the age of high consumption.

Criticisms or arguments against the model

1.The model is historical ie end result is known at the outset and is derived from the history of a bureaucratic society.

2.Rostow's model is mechanical ie because underlying motor of change is not disclosed.

3.Rostow's model is based on American and European history and defines the American norms of consumption.

4.Rostow's model does not apply to the Asian and African countries because it is based on American and European history.

5.Another criticism is that his model assumes the inevitable adoption of Neoliberal trade policies.

6.The stages are not identifiable properly in Rostow's model as the conditions of the take-off and pre-take off are very similar and also they overlap.

7.Rostow is trying to fit economic progress into a linear system ie because of empirical evidence of many countries making false starts then reaching a degree of progress and change and then slipping bac