STRUCTURAL POVERTY IN PERSPECTIVE OF MODERNIZATION THEORY
MODERNIZATION THEORY
Modernization theory was born as a response to Western social scientists on what happens in the Third World after World War II. This theory has emerged as an American attempt to win the ideological war against socialism that was popular at that time. In the initial formulation in the 1950s, the flow of modernization theory and the search for forms of inherited ideas from the theory of evolution and functionalism. Evolutionary theory of Spencer and Comte describes the development of society as a rectilinear direction of movement, while the functionalism of Talcott Parsons’s theory assumes that people do not just like the human body organ that has many interdependent parts.
One thing that stands out from this is of modernization theory as if it did not provide a gap to the outside elements that are considered modern as the source of failure, but more emphasis as a result of the community itself. As a result of external factors to be neglected. Modernization theory to provide solutions that help the Third World, including poverty, not only needed the help of capital from developed countries, but it is advisable to leave the country and replace the traditional values of political democracy and institutionalize (Garna, 1999:9).
Modernization theory is a theory that arise because of the reality gap between the economic life of the state in the country producing agricultural output (agricultural country) and industrial goods-producing countries (industrialized countries) are embracing the concept of the international division of labor. The concept is based on the theory of comparative advantage possessed by each country, resulting in specialization of production in each country according to the comparative advantage they have. According to this concept, between the two groups of countries is a concern both trade relations and mutual benefit. However, industrialized countries are becoming increasingly rich in comparison with agricultural countries after several decades later.
Theories that represent and belong to a group of modernization theory are as follows:
1. Harrod-Domar theory: Saving and Investing
This theory was pioneered by development economists, namely Evsey Domar and Roy Harrod. This theory argues that economic growth is determined by high savings and investment. While the main problem is lack of capital development, savings and investments. Therefore, to solve this problem is to seek additional capital, both from domestic and abroad.
2. Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic
Protestant ethic is an answer to that found by Weber to the progress of some countries in Europe and the U.S. under the capitalist system. This doctrine states that a person was predestined for heaven or hell. And to know this, the indicator is the success in the world. If a person is successful in its work in the world, it is almost certain that he was destined to ascend to heaven after he died later, and vice versa. Thus, they work hard to achieve success in the world for the sake of clarity of his fate in the hereafter. While material wealth is a byproduct that is not on purpose. This is a major factor in the emergence of capitalism according to Weber. Therefore, the role of religion (the Protestant ethic in a positive point has implications for economic growth.
3. David McClelland: The Need for Achievement (n-Ach)
The need or urge to perform or the need for achievement, better known by an abbreviated symbol: “n-Ach” is a concept coined by David McClelland. This concept is influenced by the thought of Max Weber’s Protestant Ethic. David McClelland argues that to make a successful job, the most important is the attitude towards the job. It required a high n-Ach. n-ach person is considered high if a person shows high optimism, courage to change the fate and not give up easily. Otherwise, its value is considered less and need to be improved. To grow the n-Ach, then the most effective way is through the family. Therefore, if in a society there are many people who have a high n-Ach, it can be expected that society will result in high economic growth.
4. WW. Rostow: Five Phase Development
According to Rostow, the construction is a process that moves in a straight line, from a backward society to an advanced society. It has the same event in each country, both in the past, present, and the future. Although there are variations from country to country to country, but the variation is not a fundamental change of this process, but only lasted on the surface. The development process is divided into five stages:
1) Traditional society: science has not been mastered.
2) Pre-conditions for take-off: changing the mindset of traditional societies result from the interventions that have been advanced, and get ready to lift off process.
3) Take off: marked by the removal of barriers that impede the process of economic growth.
4) Moving into adulthood: the rapid development of advanced industries, so that the export-import balance.
5) Age of high mass consumption: this stage is the process of sustainable development that can sustain continuous progress.
Basically, the concept of development is triggered by Rostow almost simultaneously with the Harrod-Domar theory, which is associated with increased savings and productive investment as high as possible. Only, Rostow is more focused on the role of non-economic institutions such as political and social institutions to achieve the goal. And most important point in the progress of the movement that one to the other is the takeoff period. To that end, the barriers that exist in society must be eliminated, so the creation of a society that can liberate themselves from the values of tradition and began to move forward. Role of social and political institutions are called non-economic factors.
5. Bert F. Hoselitz: non-economic factors
Hoselitz added that in moving the non-economic institutions (social and political institutions) in the process of achieving take-off stage by Rostow, then the thing to note is the establishment of the general environmental conditions in the pre conditions for take-off. Hoselitz argues that the main problem of development is not only caused due to lack of capital, but the job skills, including strong self-employed workers also contributed to the development process. Thus, in need of institutional development (institution building) that can affect the supply of capital and make it productive, self-employed so as to generate power and administration, as well as technical and scientific skills required. Supply of capital is needed include several elements, namely:
1) Supply of capital and banking.
2) Supply of skilled experts.
6. Alex Inkeles and David H. Smith: Modern Man
According to Inkeles and Smith, an important factor supporting human resource development is competitive, so that the productivity of material means can be developed. For that, we need modern humans, that humans are having an openness to new experiences and ideas, oriented to the present and future, have the ability to plan, believing that humans could control nature, and not vice versa, and so on. To establish modern humans, then the most effective way is through education, work experience and an introduction to the mass media.
Poverty According to Modernization Theory
Poverty in the context of modernization theory is the existence of traditionalism that often become barriers to development itself. Third World countries is a backward country with a traditional society. Third World to develop itself to have the values of Western-owned achievement needs to grow and develop the modern entrepreneur that describes the strong public desire to adapt the values of “lifestyle” as the identity of the modern West.
Development in Indonesia has brought many changes in various aspects of society, both in rural and urban areas. These changes impact not only on the physical environment, but also the value system of society in order of social life. But unfortunately the changes created by the construction of the accompanying impact was terrible and complex, because it has given rise to underdevelopment and poverty in society.
Modernization theory provides a solution, that in order to help the Third World, including poverty, not only needed the help of capital from developed countries, but it is advisable to leave the country and replace the traditional values and then to institute political democracy (Garna, 1999:9); it is where is the problem, because the theory of development according to the perception of Third World demands that the traditions and values should give the feel of the modern state to be achieved (Koentajaraningrat, 1984:69). Modernization theory actually has the same attention and concern about Third World development issues, and attempt to formulate a development policy which is expected to accelerate the process of poverty eradication. In the theory of modernization, development problems such as poverty was viewed as an internal problem that is caused by internal factors or factors contained in the relevant country.
Poverty in the city of Surabaya
The rapid urbanization and urban development unbalance is a problem with big cities in Indonesia. Surabaya as well as big cities have the same problem in terms of increasing population and the distribution of the welfare population. So that there are still pockets of poverty (slum) in Surabaya. In the midst of bells development in Surabaya city was still not able to eradicate poverty. Although poverty reduction budget every year tens of billions of dollars, the poverty rate is high in Surabaya.
Based on data from the Agency for Community Empowerment (Bapemas) Surabaya 2011 the number of poor families (gakin) there were 112 465 households (HH) or approximately 449 860 inhabitants (estimate a household of four people). There are six villages are categorized as the poorest in Surabaya four of which are located in the District Semampir, the Village Edge, Pegirian, Wonokusumo and Sidotopo. The other two, Ivory Sub District and Village Simokerto Tambaksari Simokerto District.
In the legislation of Article 34 reads “the poor and neglected children in maintained by the state”. However, poverty reduction efforts undertaken by many local work unit (SKPD), as Bapemas, Public Health Service (DHO), Department of Labor (Manpower), Social Services (Social Affairs) and the Urban Development Planning Agency (Bappeko) is still not effective, so efforts to reduce the amount of poverty in Surabaya also slowed. It has not been able to raise the marginal and marginalized communities of the poverty line.
Poverty is one of the most serious social problem and has always grown in every dimension and the joints of social life. Poverty in an economic perspective, is defined as a lack of resources that can be used to meet the necessities of life and improve welfare. The resources in this context not only the financial aspect, but all kinds of wealth that can improve welfare in a broad sense. Poverty is used as an indicator of the nature of matter property ownership, income per capita, and consumption as the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) using consumption indicators for 21.00 calories/person per day is equivalent to a certain income, or the World Bank approach that uses a standard U.S. dollars/person per day. Examples of this poverty are unable to meet basic needs such as clothing, food, shelter along with other access, such as health, employment and education.
The debate between adherents of the theories of modernization and structuralist camps on the issue of poverty is very prolonged. Poverty is not only sociologically derived from where the weaknesses as understood by adherents of the theory of modernization but also can not be associated with an inability to design a social formation of individuals and communities to make changes in her. Of the race paradigm is then born the so-called structural poverty and cultural poverty. The inability of the government in alleviating this problem in perparah with rules that prohibit the issuance of the poor such as the ban on vagrancy, begging, busking and other poor people’s work plus the rule provides sanctions for those who gave donations.
Structural poverty is the poverty that arises not because of the inability of the poor to work (lazy), but because of the inability of the system and social structure in providing opportunities that enable the poor to work. Social structure is not able to connect people with the resources available, either provided by nature, the government and the community around it. They are classified in this group are agricultural laborers, scavengers, sand diggers and they are uneducated and untrained.
Structural poverty began to receive greater attention nationally among scholars of social sciences, and also among the general public, after the seminar HIPIS (Indonesian Association for the Development of Social Sciences) was held in Malaysia in November 1979. In the seminar, Selo Soemardjan said is meant by the notion that structural poverty is the poverty suffered by some segments of society, because the social structure that makes people unable to participate using other sources of revenue that is actually available to them. The recent recognition of the increasingly powerful presence of structural poverty. Poverty that occurs is considered as structural poverty. Many people become poor or remain poor because they do not get the resources they are supposed to get, because the structure of the existing state of society and prevented.
Structural poverty is the injustice done by the State and therefore abolish the struggle is a political struggle. Structural poverty that occurred in the city of Surabaya city government must be a concern Surabaya. With so many family members does not meet the needs of life and life is like. Parties which accounted for most of the creation of structural poverty is the government, because government has the power and policies tend to let people in poor condition, did not issue a pro-poor policies, if any is more oriented to the project, not on welfare development. So that no poor ‘grade’, meaning if the awalanya workers, fishermen, scavengers then forever be a labor of fishermen and scavengers, because there is no effort in raising their degrees and skills either in education or training opportunities. Solve problems of poverty into one of Surabaya City Government priorities until now. However, instead of reduced poverty, but it is growing. In fact, the intervention provided by the local government budgets from year to year continues to rise.
If it is associated with one of the modernization of the existing theory is the theory of Alex Inkeles and David H. Smith: Modern Man, which states that an important factor supporting human resource development is competitive, so that the productivity of material means can be developed. It is necessary for modern man, in the form of modern humans, then the most effective way is through education, work experience and an introduction to the mass media. By looking at the theory of modern humans over the Surabaya city government to tackle poverty or meninimalisir presence is required not only sedekar programs that discourse, but to be completely terrealisasikan especially for the poor who do not have the skills so that they only rely on the daily intake as scavengers, singers or begging on the streets who sometimes use children to work on the road. Surabaya City Government should not only curb or catch the people who like it because of something like that would not solve the problem. But more directed or equip them with ways such as collecting the beggars, the homeless, street musicians to be equipped with skills, education or work experience in order to create decent work for their living, so do not rely on others. Because they are also human resources that can be counted on to contribute the labor to reduce unemployment if they are equipped with the skills and training to enhance the capabilities they have. But the Surabaya city government should really handle it if only half serious-half then it will only wasted and the problem of poverty will continue to be a problem that can not be resolved.
REFERENCES
Budiman, Arief. 2000. Teori Pembangunan Dunia Ketiga. Jakarta: PT. Gramedia Pustaka Utama
Garna, Yudistira K. (1999). Teori Sosial Dan Pembangunan Indonesia : Suatu Kajian Melalui Diskusi. Bandung: Primaco Academika.
Koentjaraningrat. (1984). Kebudayaan, Mentalitet dan Pembangunan, Jakarta: Penerbit PT Gramedia.
Kemiskinan di Surabaya Masih Tinggi. Diakses dari http://deki-aloha.blogspot.com/2011/07/kemiskinan-di-surabaya-masih-tinggi.html, diakses tanggal 24 Februari 2012
Theresia Octastefani 