Dualism Revisited: a New Approach to the Problems of the Dual Society in Developing Countries

Dualism in the sense of persistent and increasing divergencies exists on various levels, internationally in relations between richer and poorer countries, and internally within the developing countries themselves. The following article focuses mainly on the internal dualism and growing inequalities within the developing countries, but links these to growing international inequalities in command over modern science and technology. Tendencies within the field of science and technology, including their increasing capital intensity and their increasing dominance by the needs of the richer countries and lack of direct relevance for the needs of developing countries are closely associated with growing unemployment and under-employment in various forms within the developing countries. More and more the relevant forms of dualistic fission run along the line of employed versus unemployed rather than the more traditional distinctions between rural and urban sectors, traditional versus modern sectors, etc. The tendency for technological developments to produce internal dualism in the underdeveloped countries is further strengthened by a number of factors, including the association of modern technology with foreign investment.