DYNAMICS OF MODERNIZATION: A study in Comparative History

Princeton University - Center for International Studies

by C. E. Black

Few essays in history have the breadth of vision and the sophistication that characterize [this book by C.E. Black]. An analysis of the transofrmation of the societies of the world from the traditional to the modern, this book by a distinguished Princeton scholar is a fascinating exercise in comparative history.

Professor Black believes that the revolutionary transformation of our age is as important as the emergence of civilization itself. It is imperative to understand the capacity both of the advanced societies and of the developing new nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America to adapt to the need for rapid change. Failure to understand this process can lead, he argues, to diplomatic and political error and to potential disaster. He presents what it means to be 'modern,' and presents a chronological timetable for the development of modernizing societies.

In an intellectually daring achievement, he presents seven main patterns of growth and traces the experience of 175 contemporary societies with predictions as to their future.

Harper & Row, 1966. 207 pp. Index