1.The history of an idea -- Developmental contradictions -- Origins of the idea -- The crusade takes off -- The concept starts to unravel -- Internationalism redefined -- 2.Aid: the international contribution -- A range of critiques -- The machinery of aid -- The great aid debate -- The expanding donor edifice -- The demand for 'success' -- 3.Economic development -- who benefits? -- Growing inequalities of wealth -- Invisible economies and indicators with a difference -- The growth question and neoliberal excess -- Can small still be beautiful? -- How to help the poor: give them money -- 4.Social progress matters -- Mass campaigns for health -- The problem with 'scaling up' -- Alternative models and 'barefoot' approaches -- Social and economic: chicken and egg -- MDGs and beyond: goals reign supreme -- 5.Enter sustainability -- The 'population crisis' and planetary threats -- A green leap forward or 'greenwashing'? -- Plantations and land grabs -- GM, a magic bullet? -- Sustainable living, viewed from the ground -- 6.Development is political -- Tackling root causes -- Inequality and poverty reinforce each other -- The rise of people's movements and civil society -- Participation and empowerment -- The ascent of rights -- 7.Where next? -- Living with the development puzzle -- Putting poor people first -- The international circus -- In the name of 'the poor' -- Opposing the one-thought world