Many sociological theories of development have been criticized for
their lack of engagement with cultural diversity. Rather than
recognizing that the world is populated by thousands of different
religious, ethnic and social groups, many of the development
theories derived from the North have assumed a particular form of
social organization, either as a starting point, or as a goal. However,
such Eurocentric theories have been criticized both for their
culturally-specific definitions of ‘development’, and also their
assumptions regarding the homogenizing nature of development in
relation to culture. As Worsley (1999) highlights, concepts used in
many Eurocentric theories use concepts such as ‘profit’ as if they
were natural, rather than having particular cultural meanings.