Encountering Development

How did the industrialized nations of North America and Europe come to be seen as the appropriate models for post-World War II societies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America? Did the postwar discourse on development actually create the so-called Third World? In Encountering Development, Arturo Escobar shows how development policies became mechanisms of control that were just as pervasive and effective as their colonial counterparts. Escobar offers a provocative analysis of development discourse and practice, concluding with a discussion of alternative visions for a postdevelopment era. He emphasizes the role of economists in development discourse, using a case study of Colombia that demonstrates that the economization of food resulted in ambitious plans, and more hunger. In a substantial new preface, Escobar reviews debates on globalization and postdevelopment since the book's original publication in 1995 and argues that the concept of postdevelopment needs to be redefined to meet today's significantly new conditions. He then calls for the development of a field of "pluriversal studies," which he illustrates with examples from recent Latin American movements. -- from back cover.