Theory and practice of sustainable development

Abstract

The concept "development" emerged only in the post-war era and was closely linked to modernization theory. The historical framework is constituted by the emergence of national states as a consequence of the anti-colonial struggles especially in Africa, Asia and the Latin American Caribbean. Special mention should be made of the work of Walt Rostow, an American economist who at the time was an economic advisor to President John-son. His ideas about free trade and modernization were widespread in the 1960s. Walt Whitman Rostow's Stages of Economic Growth Model describes how societies develop into modern and industrial economies through five distinct stages: 1. Society traditional; 2. Transitional society; 3. Take off; 4. Road to technological maturity and 5. High mass consumption. The “take-off” stage, which is the third step, describes the moment when societies move towards full industrialization in certain specific ways, such as technological innovations, urbanization, the production of secondary goods such as textiles, and intense growth. in specific sectors. In short, it is a dualist model (tradition - modernity) that is characterized by a reductionist and in fact ahistorical vision of the development process.