In this landmark text, Gilbert Rist provides a comprehensive and compelling 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.

Assessing possible postdevelopment models and considering the ecological dimensions of development, Rist contemplates the ways forward. 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.

A classic development text written by one of the leaders of postdevelopment theory.

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 includeThe 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.

Preface to the Fourth EditionPreface to the Third EditionPreface to the Second EditionIntroduction1. Definitions of Development2. Metamorphoses of a Western Myth3. The Making of a World System4. The Invention of Development5. The International Doctrine and Institutions Take Root6. Modernization Poised between History and Prophecy7. The Periphery and the Understanding of History8. Self-reliance: The Communal Past as a Model for the Future9. The Triumph of Third-Worldism10. The Environment, or the New Nature of 'Development'11. A Mixture of Realism and Fine Sentiments12. Globalization as a Simulacrum of 'Development'13. From the Struggle against Poverty to the Millennium Development Goals14. The Great Turnaround?15. Beyond 'Development': From Downscaling to a Change in the Economic ParadigmConclusionBibliographyIndex