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History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith
With all its hopes of a more just and materially prosperous world, development has fascinated societies in both North and South. Looking at this collective fancy in retrospect, Gilbert Rist shows the underlying similarities of its various theories and strategies, and their shared inability to transform the world. He argues persuasively that development has always been a kind of collective delusion which in reality has simply promoted a widening of market relations despite the good intentions of its advocates.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 14, 2011
A complainers guide to development. Though this is one long complaint about Development without any ways in which it can change (not even, lets stop developing in general) if you are interested in development you should probably read this book to help you better understand all people involved in the development discussion.
March 31, 2020
Quite an interesting and informative description of the History of Development.
The volume provides a detailed, yet not chaotic genealogy of the development discourse.
The volume provides a detailed, yet not chaotic genealogy of the development discourse.
July 21, 2018
كتاب في تاريخ التنمية وليس في تاريخ المعتقد الغربي... ممل ولا أعلم كيف خُدعت بالعنوان... لكن هو مادة غنية للمهتمين بتاريخ التنمية وعوامل نجاحها وفشلها.
February 16, 2009
Dry and pretentious, but informative.
October 4, 2016
I loved this book, OK, I read it for my studies, but it was a great summary of history of development.
December 31, 2022
Compelling critical analysis of the history of international development (spoiler, it's not pretty). Read the 5th Ed. (2019). It's dense and translated from French but highly recommend for anyone interested in development! Other reviewers complained about the lack of "solutions" - I found the updated 2019 conclusion to address this somewhat, but it's also not the goal of Rist to create a framework beyond development, rather to argue for the necessity of leaving development in the past. Critique of economic "law" and explanation of development as, at its core, an economic venture was very compelling. He actually argues that development *widens* inequities. Fascinating, will be thinking about this for a long time.
Read for grad course in Anthropology. Below is my full review, which I wrote for the course.
--
With organizations such as USAID touting budgets in the tens of billions, development seems cemented in our modern infrastructure. Globalization is widely assumed to be an unstoppable reality, but with inequality on the rise and the environment under increasing duress, can we be confident it is a good thing?
The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith tackles this murky origin story. First published in French in 1996 by Dr. Gilbert Rist, it was translated to English in 1997, with the latest edition being published in 2019. Rist serves as a professor emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. In History of Development, Rist robustly chronicles the ideas, conversations, and events that birthed the development sector as we know it today. He successfully and systematically exposes the western, economic, often-contradictory roots of the idea of development and how those forces brought development to its untouchable popular imagining. Rist is convincing in arguing his controversial definition of development that centers on the increase of production and raises a piercing alarm about the environmental havoc wrought by development, however, he concludes with underwhelming and unconvincing ways forward, stumbling into some of the same rhetorical pitfalls he so heavily critiques.
Contrary to modern proponents who hail development as a cure-all for societal ails, Rist paints a picture of development that is more self-interested in nature. He lays out the following definition of the term in his opening chapter, “‘Development’ consists of a set of practices, something appearing to conflict with one another, which require – for the reproduction of society – the general transformation and destruction of the natural environment and of social relations. Its aim is to increase the production of commodities (goods and services) geared, by way of exchange, to effective demand” (p. 13). Rist argues that the necessity of development is a core tenant of the religion of modern Western society (p. 24).
From this foundation, Rist embarks on a historic retelling. In chapters two and three, Rist highlights ideas in ancient history that birthed a natural view of human history which gave way to social evolutionism. He explains how social evolutionism evoked “humanitarian-religious language” to argue the moral obligation of so-called advanced societies to colonize the Global South in the 19th century, and how colonial systems metamorphosized into mandate systems in the early 20th century (pp. 54-55, 59-62). This is followed by a discussion of the aftermath of World War II and the revolutionary invocation by President Truman of “underdeveloped” as a foil for ‘developed,’ a “radical” alteration (pp. 70-73).
Chapters five through nine follow the 1950s-70s’ birth of the development framework, the resulting economic and political ideologies, and the writings and meetings of those who sought to push back upon these frameworks or reimagine them, largely to little effect. Rist argues that these changes were, as the saying goes, lipstick on a pig – conventions and organizations recycling the same “religious structure,” proselytization of capitalism and the necessity of never-ending growth, vague notions of collective humanity, and thinly-concealed self-interest of the Global North (pp. 136-154). In chapter 10, Rist paints the environment as a victim of development and globalization and details how global figures unsuccessfully sought to reconcile the two with the invention of ‘sustainable development’ in the 1980s (pp. 180-181).
Chapter 11 covers the early 90s, wherein the UN Development Programme rebranded again as ‘human,’ still maintaining a distinctly western, evolutionist, and individualistic essence (p. 205). Rist repeats his earlier critique that despite the altruistic ambitions of the UNDP, “it is impossible to consider the poverty of the South without also seriously examining the wealth of the North” (p. 204). In chapters 12-13, Rist brings readers to the late 90s. Rist discusses the struggle against poverty & the Millennium Development Goals and reiterates the enduring problem of the ambiguity of development, which results in “an unchallenged belief in the necessity of growth” and “messianism” that reincarnates development incessantly (pp. 214-218). Chapter 14 covers the early 2000s, noting changes in language as inequalities across the globe have muddied socioeconomic distinctions – inequalities the International Monetary Fund has happily capitalized upon via lending. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, countries’ focus has shifted from ‘development’ to the less-charged idea of ‘growth,’ with some countries taking more radical approaches, such as Bolivia’s vivir bien experiment.
Rist predicts continued economic stagnation and dilapidation as the century continues, but outlines a potential way forward in chapter 15 and the conclusion with the introduction of the concept of ‘degrowth’: downscaling for the sake of our planet and our social infrastructure. Beyond this, Rist attests that in order to move past development, we must free ourselves from its fuel, the modern economic paradigm.
Altogether, Rist tells a compelling, cohesive story about the origins of development. He is successful in naming and tracing ideas that persist throughout development’s metamorphoses and in exposing the religious fervor with which it is touted. Readers may feel like the work is climaxing as they reach the final chapters, however, Rist’s final admonitions are underwhelming at best, and at worst, fall into the same rhetorical traps he so vehemently opposes. He critiques both neo-developmentalists and degrowth advocates for their slavery to the economic mode of thought, yet fails to construct a compelling alternative. Rist expresses skepticism that people are even able to break free from the “cult of growth,” asking, “how is it possible to give up … strawberries in winter?” (p.258). Rist acknowledges the critique that post-developmentalists “merely denounce” the present without “offering new solutions,” but exempts them from giving any kind of solution given their desire to move beyond the development framework (p. 274). Rist’s ethical framework bleeds through as he outlines the aim of post-developmentalists, namely to “regain political, economic, and social autonomy for the marginalized regions,” to “break loose from monetary exchanges,” and to “ask nothing of the State” other than it butts out, and therefore “inventing new ways of living” (pp. 274-275). Is this not the eerily similar, ambiguous, aspirational, and quasi-religious language Rist so utterly disdains in the development camp? If Rist does have more concrete solutions, in my opinion, their omission was a poor choice, as capitulating into vague notions at the very end undercuts his credibility overall.
Despite its anticlimactic closure, readers who are eager to interrogate the ideas of development will find ample solace in the primer that is The History of Development.
Read for grad course in Anthropology. Below is my full review, which I wrote for the course.
--
With organizations such as USAID touting budgets in the tens of billions, development seems cemented in our modern infrastructure. Globalization is widely assumed to be an unstoppable reality, but with inequality on the rise and the environment under increasing duress, can we be confident it is a good thing?
The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith tackles this murky origin story. First published in French in 1996 by Dr. Gilbert Rist, it was translated to English in 1997, with the latest edition being published in 2019. Rist serves as a professor emeritus at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. In History of Development, Rist robustly chronicles the ideas, conversations, and events that birthed the development sector as we know it today. He successfully and systematically exposes the western, economic, often-contradictory roots of the idea of development and how those forces brought development to its untouchable popular imagining. Rist is convincing in arguing his controversial definition of development that centers on the increase of production and raises a piercing alarm about the environmental havoc wrought by development, however, he concludes with underwhelming and unconvincing ways forward, stumbling into some of the same rhetorical pitfalls he so heavily critiques.
Contrary to modern proponents who hail development as a cure-all for societal ails, Rist paints a picture of development that is more self-interested in nature. He lays out the following definition of the term in his opening chapter, “‘Development’ consists of a set of practices, something appearing to conflict with one another, which require – for the reproduction of society – the general transformation and destruction of the natural environment and of social relations. Its aim is to increase the production of commodities (goods and services) geared, by way of exchange, to effective demand” (p. 13). Rist argues that the necessity of development is a core tenant of the religion of modern Western society (p. 24).
From this foundation, Rist embarks on a historic retelling. In chapters two and three, Rist highlights ideas in ancient history that birthed a natural view of human history which gave way to social evolutionism. He explains how social evolutionism evoked “humanitarian-religious language” to argue the moral obligation of so-called advanced societies to colonize the Global South in the 19th century, and how colonial systems metamorphosized into mandate systems in the early 20th century (pp. 54-55, 59-62). This is followed by a discussion of the aftermath of World War II and the revolutionary invocation by President Truman of “underdeveloped” as a foil for ‘developed,’ a “radical” alteration (pp. 70-73).
Chapters five through nine follow the 1950s-70s’ birth of the development framework, the resulting economic and political ideologies, and the writings and meetings of those who sought to push back upon these frameworks or reimagine them, largely to little effect. Rist argues that these changes were, as the saying goes, lipstick on a pig – conventions and organizations recycling the same “religious structure,” proselytization of capitalism and the necessity of never-ending growth, vague notions of collective humanity, and thinly-concealed self-interest of the Global North (pp. 136-154). In chapter 10, Rist paints the environment as a victim of development and globalization and details how global figures unsuccessfully sought to reconcile the two with the invention of ‘sustainable development’ in the 1980s (pp. 180-181).
Chapter 11 covers the early 90s, wherein the UN Development Programme rebranded again as ‘human,’ still maintaining a distinctly western, evolutionist, and individualistic essence (p. 205). Rist repeats his earlier critique that despite the altruistic ambitions of the UNDP, “it is impossible to consider the poverty of the South without also seriously examining the wealth of the North” (p. 204). In chapters 12-13, Rist brings readers to the late 90s. Rist discusses the struggle against poverty & the Millennium Development Goals and reiterates the enduring problem of the ambiguity of development, which results in “an unchallenged belief in the necessity of growth” and “messianism” that reincarnates development incessantly (pp. 214-218). Chapter 14 covers the early 2000s, noting changes in language as inequalities across the globe have muddied socioeconomic distinctions – inequalities the International Monetary Fund has happily capitalized upon via lending. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, countries’ focus has shifted from ‘development’ to the less-charged idea of ‘growth,’ with some countries taking more radical approaches, such as Bolivia’s vivir bien experiment.
Rist predicts continued economic stagnation and dilapidation as the century continues, but outlines a potential way forward in chapter 15 and the conclusion with the introduction of the concept of ‘degrowth’: downscaling for the sake of our planet and our social infrastructure. Beyond this, Rist attests that in order to move past development, we must free ourselves from its fuel, the modern economic paradigm.
Altogether, Rist tells a compelling, cohesive story about the origins of development. He is successful in naming and tracing ideas that persist throughout development’s metamorphoses and in exposing the religious fervor with which it is touted. Readers may feel like the work is climaxing as they reach the final chapters, however, Rist’s final admonitions are underwhelming at best, and at worst, fall into the same rhetorical traps he so vehemently opposes. He critiques both neo-developmentalists and degrowth advocates for their slavery to the economic mode of thought, yet fails to construct a compelling alternative. Rist expresses skepticism that people are even able to break free from the “cult of growth,” asking, “how is it possible to give up … strawberries in winter?” (p.258). Rist acknowledges the critique that post-developmentalists “merely denounce” the present without “offering new solutions,” but exempts them from giving any kind of solution given their desire to move beyond the development framework (p. 274). Rist’s ethical framework bleeds through as he outlines the aim of post-developmentalists, namely to “regain political, economic, and social autonomy for the marginalized regions,” to “break loose from monetary exchanges,” and to “ask nothing of the State” other than it butts out, and therefore “inventing new ways of living” (pp. 274-275). Is this not the eerily similar, ambiguous, aspirational, and quasi-religious language Rist so utterly disdains in the development camp? If Rist does have more concrete solutions, in my opinion, their omission was a poor choice, as capitulating into vague notions at the very end undercuts his credibility overall.
Despite its anticlimactic closure, readers who are eager to interrogate the ideas of development will find ample solace in the primer that is The History of Development.
February 9, 2022
I bought this book purely by chance. While visiting—with no particular intention to buy any book—the main bookstore in Ljubljana, I came across this book. It was discounted from 25,23 € to 16,99 €, so I thought this was a good opportunity. Especially because at my doctoral study I have a subject titled: Environmental and sociological aspects of sustainable development, as one of our core courses, presented by professors Katja Vintar Mally and Drago Kos.
The first thing that caught my attention was its title. Why the history of 'development', why not a history of 'sustainable development', that is such a buzzword in last decades. After reading this book, I'm actually convinced that my subject at the doctoral program should use the word 'development' and not 'sustainable development'. The author—who considers himself to be an advocate of 'post-development'—very convincingly presents the case for the history of development and not for the history of sustainable development, for example. Namely, sustainable development is only one stage in the very intriguing history of development. It remains to be seen if it is the final stage or the most hyped impactful stage, as Rist sees it.
Regarding the title of the book, in my opinion, it would be even more suitable to call it a: The Critical History of Development. But the subtitle is more than appropriate, as the author really is describing the field of development from its western origins to global faith. Rist with this book questions the main purpose of the process of 'development', first of all, this idea to relieve the misery of others—both in North and South—by structural measures, no matter if others are living in a different continent. Job more than well done.
As I mentioned, the author is approaching the history of development within a critical perspective, whereby as 'critique' he understands in its Kantian sense of free and public examination and not in the ordinary sense of unfavorable judgment.
In my opinion, the best job Rist does at the beginning of the book, in the first chapter, where he defines the term development. He starts by defining what is a good definition. And this explanation serves him very well throughout the book, where he examines various stages of development endeavor and is though able to evaluate them set by these criteria set at the beginning of the book. Rist offers its own definition of development, and explains it quite in detail, for which I can only say that it is realistic but that it sounds rather depressing.
To me, two things stand out in the book. How the author, through Aristotle, defines the meaning of the word development. And another, is the first use of the word development in modern times in the field of high politics. For Aristotle, science was supposed to be coextensive with nature. And the origins of the word 'nature' in Greek happen to come from the verb phuo (in Greek φύω), which means 'to grow' or 'to develop'. I checked in Wikipedia, and it doesn't mention the meaning 'to develop', but it does mention 'to grow' and other meanings like 'bring forth, produce, generate', 'cause to grow' and 'to beget', 'give birth to' among several others. And the latter—the first high profile mentioning of the word development—, is supposed to be common knowledge actually, but I didn't hear it from my professors (as they were lecturing us about sustainable development). President of the USA, Truman, famously mentioned 'development'—in order to justify the process of decolonization—in its inaugural address in January 1949—, an infamous 'Point Four'. Very convincingly throughout the book, Rist explains that Point Four inaugurated the 'development age'. President Truman spoke in that Point Four—the first three points being the continuation of the backing of the United Nations Organization; the Marshall Plan; and the creation of NATO—about economic developments, about a program of development, capital investments in areas needing development, about cooperative enterprise for the achievement of peace, plenty and freedom. Noble goals, no doubt about that.
The main focus of the book is to critically explain the development of the development initiatives after the second world war. Rist explains all the stages and all the initiatives taking place. And critically examines them. Rist does the job by examining decades, not necessarily in completely linear order. The 1950s was the decade where the United Nations build its agenda around three related issues: human rights, decolonization and 'development'. Times of the cold war, the 1960s begin with the widely acclaimed success of Rostow's book, The Stages of Economic Growth. Rist goes to some length to examine the shortcomings of this book but recognizes its influence. Of particular interest to me was the examination of the French-speaking authors in the book, such as Francois Perroux, who has defined growth as 'the combination of mental and social changes in a people that make it fit to increase its total real product, cumulatively and durably'. Risk brings out also a little article, which he digs from near-total obscurity, from Dudley Seers, titled 'The Limitation of the Special Case'. Seers' propositions—for example, to fund a new discipline called 'development economics'—were mainly overheard by the corporation of economists of its time.
The 1970s brought the Second Development Decade, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly. And with it the New International Economic Order (NIEO), proposed by the heads of state and government of the non-aligned countries. NIEO was supposed to promote 'development' as envisaged in mainstream economics—economic growth, expansion of the world trade, and increased aid by the industrial countries—but instead of combating dependence, the NIEO in Rist's opinion only confirmed it. Rist examines also an approach from the What Now report, where its authors—more than a hundred people who favoured a critical approach to development and gathered in small groups in Uppsala, The Hague, and Algiers—acknowledged that there is no universal formula for 'development'.
Rist summarizes the 1980s in two words: structural adjustment or also as the 'lost decade'. The end of the 1980s brings us the 'sustainable development', that Rist examines like a cover-up operation. It is supposed to allay the fears of the effects of economic growth and so not to allow for any radical change. New Millenium has brought as Millenium Development Goals—and now also the Sustainable Development Goals, which Rist does not cover, but I'm quite convinced he would very critically examine them too—, so nothing is new, really. This fifth edition of the book has also a new chapter by Rist, but I was not so impressed by it, as its sources are mainly from newspapers and magazines and not journals. It is impressive though that this book is in its fifth edition, which only confirms that the foundation of the book has been really well laid.
What came as the biggest surprise to me in this book? That Rist on several spots mentioned Bruno Latour and his book We Have Never Been Modern. Rist does not go into detail to explain Latour's position but nevertheless, he does warn us in the right places of the book of the unnecessary dichotomies at the interface of nature and society. This strength of Rist's book presents also its weakness. In terms that Rist's references come really from wide fields, so it's not possible to cover them all in details.
The first thing that caught my attention was its title. Why the history of 'development', why not a history of 'sustainable development', that is such a buzzword in last decades. After reading this book, I'm actually convinced that my subject at the doctoral program should use the word 'development' and not 'sustainable development'. The author—who considers himself to be an advocate of 'post-development'—very convincingly presents the case for the history of development and not for the history of sustainable development, for example. Namely, sustainable development is only one stage in the very intriguing history of development. It remains to be seen if it is the final stage or the most hyped impactful stage, as Rist sees it.
Regarding the title of the book, in my opinion, it would be even more suitable to call it a: The Critical History of Development. But the subtitle is more than appropriate, as the author really is describing the field of development from its western origins to global faith. Rist with this book questions the main purpose of the process of 'development', first of all, this idea to relieve the misery of others—both in North and South—by structural measures, no matter if others are living in a different continent. Job more than well done.
As I mentioned, the author is approaching the history of development within a critical perspective, whereby as 'critique' he understands in its Kantian sense of free and public examination and not in the ordinary sense of unfavorable judgment.
In my opinion, the best job Rist does at the beginning of the book, in the first chapter, where he defines the term development. He starts by defining what is a good definition. And this explanation serves him very well throughout the book, where he examines various stages of development endeavor and is though able to evaluate them set by these criteria set at the beginning of the book. Rist offers its own definition of development, and explains it quite in detail, for which I can only say that it is realistic but that it sounds rather depressing.
To me, two things stand out in the book. How the author, through Aristotle, defines the meaning of the word development. And another, is the first use of the word development in modern times in the field of high politics. For Aristotle, science was supposed to be coextensive with nature. And the origins of the word 'nature' in Greek happen to come from the verb phuo (in Greek φύω), which means 'to grow' or 'to develop'. I checked in Wikipedia, and it doesn't mention the meaning 'to develop', but it does mention 'to grow' and other meanings like 'bring forth, produce, generate', 'cause to grow' and 'to beget', 'give birth to' among several others. And the latter—the first high profile mentioning of the word development—, is supposed to be common knowledge actually, but I didn't hear it from my professors (as they were lecturing us about sustainable development). President of the USA, Truman, famously mentioned 'development'—in order to justify the process of decolonization—in its inaugural address in January 1949—, an infamous 'Point Four'. Very convincingly throughout the book, Rist explains that Point Four inaugurated the 'development age'. President Truman spoke in that Point Four—the first three points being the continuation of the backing of the United Nations Organization; the Marshall Plan; and the creation of NATO—about economic developments, about a program of development, capital investments in areas needing development, about cooperative enterprise for the achievement of peace, plenty and freedom. Noble goals, no doubt about that.
The main focus of the book is to critically explain the development of the development initiatives after the second world war. Rist explains all the stages and all the initiatives taking place. And critically examines them. Rist does the job by examining decades, not necessarily in completely linear order. The 1950s was the decade where the United Nations build its agenda around three related issues: human rights, decolonization and 'development'. Times of the cold war, the 1960s begin with the widely acclaimed success of Rostow's book, The Stages of Economic Growth. Rist goes to some length to examine the shortcomings of this book but recognizes its influence. Of particular interest to me was the examination of the French-speaking authors in the book, such as Francois Perroux, who has defined growth as 'the combination of mental and social changes in a people that make it fit to increase its total real product, cumulatively and durably'. Risk brings out also a little article, which he digs from near-total obscurity, from Dudley Seers, titled 'The Limitation of the Special Case'. Seers' propositions—for example, to fund a new discipline called 'development economics'—were mainly overheard by the corporation of economists of its time.
The 1970s brought the Second Development Decade, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly. And with it the New International Economic Order (NIEO), proposed by the heads of state and government of the non-aligned countries. NIEO was supposed to promote 'development' as envisaged in mainstream economics—economic growth, expansion of the world trade, and increased aid by the industrial countries—but instead of combating dependence, the NIEO in Rist's opinion only confirmed it. Rist examines also an approach from the What Now report, where its authors—more than a hundred people who favoured a critical approach to development and gathered in small groups in Uppsala, The Hague, and Algiers—acknowledged that there is no universal formula for 'development'.
Rist summarizes the 1980s in two words: structural adjustment or also as the 'lost decade'. The end of the 1980s brings us the 'sustainable development', that Rist examines like a cover-up operation. It is supposed to allay the fears of the effects of economic growth and so not to allow for any radical change. New Millenium has brought as Millenium Development Goals—and now also the Sustainable Development Goals, which Rist does not cover, but I'm quite convinced he would very critically examine them too—, so nothing is new, really. This fifth edition of the book has also a new chapter by Rist, but I was not so impressed by it, as its sources are mainly from newspapers and magazines and not journals. It is impressive though that this book is in its fifth edition, which only confirms that the foundation of the book has been really well laid.
What came as the biggest surprise to me in this book? That Rist on several spots mentioned Bruno Latour and his book We Have Never Been Modern. Rist does not go into detail to explain Latour's position but nevertheless, he does warn us in the right places of the book of the unnecessary dichotomies at the interface of nature and society. This strength of Rist's book presents also its weakness. In terms that Rist's references come really from wide fields, so it's not possible to cover them all in details.
April 20, 2024
I feel that Rist provided a fair overview of the History Development, but I left unsatisfied. Interlaced with his history of development was an attempt to expose the field as a religion that has left adherents wanting. Yet, I did not feel that alternatives were clearly presented. The book would have been sufficient for me as simply a succinct history.
January 26, 2025
This was for class, but Rist makes a compelling argument/critique of development and its roots in the same ideas that were backing colonial efforts of the time. He makes the reader reevaluate their entire framing of what development is and why its necessity is taken for granted in his equating of development to a religion.
Read
January 27, 2026this book has fundamentally altered something in my brain. I lost count of the amount of times I wrote "wow" in the margins. no solution presented (which everyone seems to find issue with) but that's kind of the point (and he also literally acknowledged that in the text).
this is book I'm going to keep coming back to over and over again. highly recommend!
this is book I'm going to keep coming back to over and over again. highly recommend!
September 17, 2021
A dense historical review of development theories and relevant approaches to addressing “development”. It lacks clear conclusions, I found, and it would be worth an update. However, a good insight for those in the domain
February 8, 2024
livre très inspirant, mais très complexe avec beaucoup de termes, de notions compliqués à cerner mais on en apprend beaucoup
April 24, 2024
found it compelling but could use an update
August 9, 2025
A (tenured, indeed) professor turned to postmodernism after seeing 40 years of dead-end Cold War developmentalism (its variations, critiques, contradictions, etc).
Frankly, I am sympathetic to his position, but the particularly narrow horizon of 1990s did not help. More interesting scholarship had come in the history and anthropology of development (including even "success" cases) since the late-1990s.
Frankly, I am sympathetic to his position, but the particularly narrow horizon of 1990s did not help. More interesting scholarship had come in the history and anthropology of development (including even "success" cases) since the late-1990s.
May 27, 2015
Excellent resource to help situate a person working in development or charitable work anywhere in the world. Definitely in the category of text-book, but not too challenging to read.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews