ABSTRACT
President Truman said the road to development was to be where 'greater production' was the 'the key to prosperity and peace'. Of course, 'development' is neither a new, nor an American idea. It is part of a process that is as old as history itself. However, since the Enlightenment the pursuit of 'development' and the quest for modernity, imbued with ideals of anthropocentricism, technology and industrialization-all wrapped in distinctive economic and political structures-has been pursued with a global vigour. The 'right to development' is widely recognized as part of international law. However, this concept was conceived long before its recognition in international law. Despite recognition of the new dimensions of the conventional development debate, the Brandt Commissions still appeared to place environmental and social problems as secondary concerns. Like the 'right' to development, sustainable development is not a recent arrival in international law and policy.
