This work is an attempt to explain the continuous success of an ideology which has so obviously failed in practice. Despite evidence to the contrary, politicians and the development community still mostly believe that economic growth will create new jobs, that international debts will be repaid, and that through globalization we can achieve prosperity. This history of the concept of development examines the theories and strategies which have held sway during the last 50 years - dependency theory, underdevelopment, the "basic needs approach", structural adjustment, human development and sustainability. Given that levels of poverty and environmental degradation continue to grow in many countries North and South, this book asks why it was that the world continued with the project for so long.