Modernization is the process by which societies adopt modern practices and technology. It involves industrialization, urbanization, secularization, and the spread of mass education and media. The term was central to mid-20th-century social theory, which assumed all societies would follow a similar path from traditional to modern.

That assumption is now contested. Postcolonial and dependency theorists argue that modernization theory ignored how rich countries exploited poor ones. Others note that modernization looks different in different places. Japan, India, and Nigeria did not follow the same route as Britain or the United States.

Common features

• Industrial and post-industrial economies
• Urban population growth
• Decline in religious authority
• Expansion of formal education
• Mass media and communication technologies

Modernization brings benefits: longer lives, higher literacy, more choices. It also brings costs: environmental damage, cultural loss, and new forms of inequality. It is not a single destination. It is an ongoing, uneven process.