The History of Development
From Western Origins to Global Faith
4th Edition
Published on 10. April 2014
320 pages
978-1-78360-025-0 (ISBN)
Description
In this classic text, now in its fourth edition, Gilbert Rist provides a complete and powerful overview of what the idea of development has meant throughout history. He traces it from its origins in the Western view of history, through the early stages of the world system, the rise of US hegemony, and the supposed triumph of third-worldism, through to new concerns about the environment and globalization.
In a new chapter on post-development models and ecological dimensions, written against a background of world crisis and ideological disarray, Rist considers possible ways forward and brings the book completely up to date. Throughout, he argues persuasively that development has been no more than a collective delusion, which in reality has resulted only in widening market relations, whatever the intentions of its advocates.
In a new chapter on post-development models and ecological dimensions, written against a background of world crisis and ideological disarray, Rist considers possible ways forward and brings the book completely up to date. Throughout, he argues persuasively that development has been no more than a collective delusion, which in reality has resulted only in widening market relations, whatever the intentions of its advocates.
Reviews / Votes
Compelling and exciting reading ... Rist's book, written with deliciously mild irony, is an account of the most crucial moments in which the rites of a belief embraced by millions were elaborated and canonized. * Praise for Previous Editions, European Journal of Development Research * This book does an outstanding job. * Praise for Previous Editions, Journal of Developing Areas * If you want to understand the ideological forces that have shaped North-South relations for half a century, you need this remarkable book. * Susan George * Richly fascinating ... Rist strips away the layers of illusion and rhetoric with surgical precision to expose the conceptual fallacies and flaws on which development is founded. * The Tribune * This is an impressive account of the rise and demise of the belief system that has pushed mankind to the brink of disaster. * Wolfgang Sachs, authorof The Development Dictionary and Fair Future *More details
Series
Edition
4th edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
ISBN-13
978-1-78360-025-0 (9781783600250)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
04/2014
4th Edition
Zed Books Ltd
€106.66
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Gilbert Rist is professor emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He previously taught in Tunisia, and spent several years as director of the Centre Europe-Tiers Monde. His other publications include The Delusions of Economics (Zed 2011). The History of Development was his first book to be translated into English, and has also been published in Spanish and Italian.
Content
Preface to the Fourth Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
1. Definitions of Development
2. Metamorphoses of a Western Myth
3. The Making of a World System
4. The Invention of Development
5. The International Doctrine and Institutions Take Root
6. Modernization Poised between History and Prophecy
7. The Periphery and the Understanding of History
8. Self-reliance: The Communal Past as a Model for the Future
9. The Triumph of Third-Worldism
10. The Environment, or the New Nature of 'Development'
11. A Mixture of Realism and Fine Sentiments
12. Globalization as a Simulacrum of 'Development'
13. From the Struggle against Poverty to the Millennium Development Goals
14. The Great Turnaround?
15. Beyond 'Development': From Downscaling to a Change in the Economic Paradigm
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Preface to the Third Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Introduction
1. Definitions of Development
2. Metamorphoses of a Western Myth
3. The Making of a World System
4. The Invention of Development
5. The International Doctrine and Institutions Take Root
6. Modernization Poised between History and Prophecy
7. The Periphery and the Understanding of History
8. Self-reliance: The Communal Past as a Model for the Future
9. The Triumph of Third-Worldism
10. The Environment, or the New Nature of 'Development'
11. A Mixture of Realism and Fine Sentiments
12. Globalization as a Simulacrum of 'Development'
13. From the Struggle against Poverty to the Millennium Development Goals
14. The Great Turnaround?
15. Beyond 'Development': From Downscaling to a Change in the Economic Paradigm
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
