Liberalization, modernization, westernization

Abstract

This paper distinguishes three distinct processes of change that a system of values can undergo: modernization, liberalization and westernization. Modernization refers to the changes needed to establish compatibility with science and technology, along with the functional demands of a capitalist economy. Liberalization refers to the changes needed to bring values into alignment with the requirements of a bureaucratic nation-state, along with the specific institutional strategies used to manage cultural pluralism. In a slight regimentation of everyday use, the term ‘westernization’ is then reserved to describe the sort of influences generated through cultural contact with and emulation of the West. The goal of drawing this distinction is to show: first, that westernization, so understood, is a negligible force in the world today, and second, that despite the unimportance of westernization, we can still expect to see enormous convergence among the value-systems of different nations, due to the pressures imposed by modernization and liberalization.