The modernization losers thesis, or modernization losers theory, is a theory associated with the academic
Hans-Georg Betz that posits that individuals support
far-right
Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
political parties because they wish to undo changes associated with
modernization
Modernization theory is used to explain the process of modernization within societies. The "classical" theories of modernization of the 1950s and 1960s drew on sociological analyses of Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and a partial reading of Max Weber ...
.
The modernization losers theory has been seen as a combination of two theories (a) the
relative deprivation theory and (b) the
social breakdown theory.
Betz suggests that the move from an industrial to
post-industrial economy
A post-industrial economy is a period of growth within an industrialized economy or nation in which the relative importance of manufacturing reduces and that of services, information, and research grows.
Such economies are often marked by a declin ...
is one aspect of this 'modernization'. The academic Jens Rydgren describes the thesis as 'one of the central tenets in the literature on the new radical right-wing parties'.
See also
*
Ethnic competition thesis
*
Linked fate
References
Far-right politics
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Theories of political behavior