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This paper reviews the different perspectives from which the problem of national development has been approached by sociology. General characteristics of the problem of development and definitions of the term are discussed in the introductory sections. The perspectives reviewed are labeled "development as social differentiation," "development as enactment of values," and "development as liberation from dependency." The main trend noted is movement from earlier extrapolations of theories based on the unique European experience to more historically grounded analyses. Recent approaches to development are not without limitations, and these are reviewed, as are those of earlier evolutionary and psychosocial perspectives.
Alejandro Portes (Thu,) studied this question.