Beauty in African Thought: A Critique of the Western Idea of Development investigates how the concept of beauty in African philosophy and related qualitative social sciences may contribute to a richer intercultural exchange on the idea of development. While working within frameworks created in post-colonial and arguably neo-colonial times, African thinkers have reacted against the mainstream view that restricts the meaning and scope of good development to economic growth and western-style education. These thinkers have worked toward a critical self-understanding of the potentials inherent in cultural, spiritual, and political traditions since pre-colonial times. Edited by Bolaji Bateye, Mahmoud Masaeli, Louise Muller, and Angela Roothaan, this collection explores branches of thought from wisdom or oral traditions to political thought and philosophy of culture. This book is urgent reading material for any policy maker, scholar, or student wishing to attend to the voices of African(ist) thinkers who search for alternative approaches to global questions of development in a time of climate change and increasing socio-economic inequality.

India is an emerging market economy, and has been more successful than most other emerging economies. Key to this success are India's ancient legacy of consensus democracy, non-violence, multi-culturality, tolerance, secularism, and the practical simplicity of economic life inspired by Mahatma Gandhi. Also, vital to India's present economy is the history of the country since the struggle for Independence began in 1857. India has followed a strikingly distinct route of development from other emerging economies such as South Korea, China, Malaysia, Brazil, and Mexico. While these countries concentrated on manufacturing and exports, India grounded its economy on an integrative domestic system of life. This model is marked by interesting and gradual, but constant, growth with an emphasis on services.Reforms in land-agricultural system, political governance, and financial management have led to a landmark stage of economic progress, with India's GDP rate higher than many emerging market economies. This volume explores the reasons why India has fared better than other emerging market economies, and whether other countries can take inspiration from this model and rebuild their own countries based on their national resources, cultural heritage, and the capacity to interact globally.The book is inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's `India of my Dreams'. It would be entirely unrealistic to claim that India's development model is all positive or meets the standards of India of Gandhi's dreams. Gandhi was a great proponent of the self-sufficiency of villages and of the bourgeoning of cottage industries. However, in present day India, debt-ridden farmers' suicide rates are drastic and the crafts are dying. In finding answers to why this is so, the volume looks at the failures in the development of cottage industries, whether the efforts of NGOs in this regard are sufficient, and whether Amartya Sen's capabilities approach would complement Gandhi's `self-sufficiency of villages' perspective in order to preserve crafts and indigenous production systems while continuing with industrialization and agrarian reforms.