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This comprehensive survey of the nature of the relationship between the Western countries and the Third World, and the debate over its effects, during the twentieth century matches development theory with wide-ranging evidence on the consequences of global integration.The book is divided into four parts. The first section surveys the debate that began in the eighteenth century over the question of whether Third World countries benefited or suffered from gradual integration into a single world economic system. The book examines the position adopted by "optimists" from Adam Smith to the World Bank, and that of "pessimists" from early critics of colonialism to present-day dependency theorists. Parts Two and Three concentrate on the nature and effects of colonialism before the 1960s. Part Four concentrates on the post-colonial era. The author examines the importance of major post-World War II developments - aid and investment - for Third World countries and provides case studies to demonstrate their effects in Africa, South, South-East and East Asia. The book offers a stimulating introduction for all students of the economic and political relationship between the West and the Third World in the modern era.