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that LDCs are submissive to the multinational companies, which is not
always the case. There is also the fact that the wealth created by
multinational companies in LDCs is not evenly distributed among the
people, but goes to a specific segment (Paul and Barbato, 1985). Others
point out that in countries with high multinational investment there is
greater inequality than in those with less multinational investment
(Szymanski, 1976; Bornschier and Ballmer-Cao, 1978). Multinational
companies do provide jobs, infrastructure, railroads, highways and
communications. This, however, can have a negative impact upon
agriculture and native crafts as people start coming to cities looking for
jobs (Frank, 1969; Paul and Barbato, 1985).
The main reason for some countries being less developed is that ruthless
and corrupt governments are more interested in power and personal
wealth than in the development of their countries. Many such countries are
torn by civil or other war, limited infrastructure, lack of education, and poor
health (Harrison et al., 2000). Naturally wealthy countries such as South
Africa have an abundance of wealth-creating resources such as land,
minerals and people but the wealth is concentrated and not distributed so
that it can be shared by everyone in the country. Despite the fact that less
developed countries would like to hold on to their traditional culture and
customs, most people who live in cities favour modernism. This results
from the availability of information and travel, exposure to Western ideas,
the involvement of multinational companies, and the resulting increase in
wealth and job opportunities (Paul and Barbato, 1985). The easy modern
lifestyle of developed countries makes modernisation seem desirable, as
a traditional lifestyle is difficult to maintain in a modern world. According to
Todaro (1969) and Watson et al. (2000), people who hope for such change
will get frustrated if it is very slow, as change will offer them the chance to
be exposed to modernism without being truly Western. Ultimately, the
world’s poor countries need to participate fully in international trade and
the legal economy (Harrison et al., 2000, p. 208).