Rethinking Dependency Theory: The Case of Dominica, The Rascal State‪.‬

INTRODUCTION Over the past decade, the debate over dependency theory has been eclipsed by the controversy over globalization. Despite the fading dialogue on dependency theory, academics continue to critique it. Ricardo Duchesne notes that "the export of capitalism does not block development in the periphery, but rather stimulates it." (1) Haldun Gulalp writes that dependency theory is highly Eurocentric. (2) In an earlier critique, Bill Warren writes that rather than inhibiting development, capital from the First World contributed to a faster growth in manufacturing in the Third World between 1970 and 1990 and an increase in employment in some countries. (3) Glenn Firebaugh argues that "foreign capital plays a decidedly secondary role to domestic capital in economic development in the Third World, and the net effect of foreign capital is positive, not negative." (4) Finally, John Tures contends, "Just as classical modernization scholars see a unidirectional path from the traditional to the modern, dependency theorists make a blanket assumption that in all Third World states poverty is due to external factors; no mention is made of internal dynamics. Maybe some states are constrained by dependency, while others can find ways to use the world capitalist system to their advantage, such as the Newly Industrialized Countries (NICs) of East Asia." (5)