UNDER-DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Under-developed countries

Under-developed countries

Introduction

Many liberal theorists would argue that by ignoring the underlying problems of their economies, and by using private banks to fund serious balance of payments problems, governments in the under-developed countries were avoiding the issue of economic adjustment (Jackson, 2006). An alternative reading of events, mostly to be found in the under-developed countries itself, argues that while the collapse of the international financial system appears to have been avoided, the issue of underdeveloped-countries debt remains a crisis of development. Here more responsibility is assigned to the commercial banks that, with the support of governments in the West, engaged in a reckless lending strategy.

It is assumed that the under-developed countries represents a stable set of countries, nations, and territories, but the geographic boundaries between first, second, and under-developed countries countries is vague. The under-developed countries, as a term, has also been used in political movements. (Trish, 2004) suggests that during the anti-Vietnam War and civil rights movements, a number of organizations used Under-developed countries to identify themselves as liberation oriented, anticapitalist, and anticolonialist or postimperialist.

Many authors concur that the under-developed countries is a term used to describe countries and nations who are poor, in political crisis, contending with pollution, and in debt. Berger believes these differences between developed and underdeveloped nations have also been described as a North-South conflict wherein the developed nations are the North and the underdeveloped are the South.

Discussion

Two different interpretations of the nature of the underdeveloped-countries debt crisis have dominated the debate since the early 1980s. The majority view in the West has been that the crisis poses a threat to the stability of the international financial system as a whole (Lewellen, 2005). This stance is often associated with the view that most of the responsibility for the crisis rests with the borrowing countries. It is suggested that they must take responsibility for the loans they took out.

Patterns that Characterize Underdeveloped Countries

Under-developed nations share some broad characteristics. Most were at one time European colonies and share a postcolonial legacy of political instability and repressive governments. They fall within a wide spectrum (Isbister, 2003). While some of these countries are now stable, others are burgeoning democracies. A large number of Under-developed countries countries still struggle under dictatorial governments and lack well-organized political structures. Civil wars and ethnic conflicts are yet other legacies of both colonization and the arbitrary repartition of traditional lands (Farmer, 2003). Weak political infrastructures are often associated with less engaged civil societies and a lack of national identity—pitting predatory states against exploited and voiceless masses. Most people in the Under-developed countries still do not have access to appropriate sanitation, clean water and electricity, good roads, and communication (Escobar, 2005).

They have experienced rapid shifts toward export production at the expense of production for local consumption and traditional methods that used to ensure sustainability. These changes inevitably lead to marginal economies characterized by high unemployment rates, low per capita income, and loss of productive ...