The Future of Development - by Gustavo Esteva & Salvatore J Babones & Philipp Babcicky (Paperback)

About the Book

This book explains the origins of development and underdevelopment and offers a new vision for development, demystifying the statistics that international organizations use to measure development and introducing the alternative concept of buen vivir: the state of living well.

Book Synopsis

On January 20, 1949 US President Harry S. Truman officially opened the era of development. On that day, over one half of the people of the world were defined as "underdeveloped" and they have stayed that way ever since. This book explains the origins of development and underdevelopment and shows how poorly we understand these two terms. It offers a new vision for development, demystifying the statistics that international organizations use to measure development and introducing the alternative concept of buen vivir: the state of living well. The authors argue that it is possible for everyone on the planet to live well, but only if we learn to live as communities rather than as individuals and to nurture our respective commons. Scholars and students of global development studies are well-aware that development is a difficult concept. This thought-provoking book offers them advice for the future of development studies and hope for the future of humankind.

Review Quotes

"By radically challenging what they call the colonizing virulence of underdevelopment, the authors of The future of development provide a clarion call to arms, a radical manifesto, for unthinking the development enterprise." Adam David Morton, Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ), University of Nottingham

"Elucidates the contradictions in development approaches very effectively." Journal of Social Policy

"This book is highly accessible, informative, and potentially inspiring ... The book approaches familiar debates on development - including population growth, food scarcity and environmental degradation - from a perspective that is both original and thought provoking." Nitsan Chorev, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, Brown University

About the Author

Gustavo Esteva is an author and grassroots activist who collaborates with the Universidad de la Tierra, Mexico, and other organizations around the world. Salvatore Babones teaches sociology and social policy at the University of Sydney, Australia. Philipp Babcicky is a doctoral student at the University of Graz, Austria.