ABSTRACT
Auguste Comte completed the invention of development which his Saint-Simonian colleagues had begun. Comte saw 'progress as the development of Order under the influence of Love'. The two could be reconciled through the understanding and application of the science of history or 'sociology' which embodied the laws of 'social evolution' which, in turn, had two aspects: 'the development, which brings after it the improvement'. Comtean positivism was to be the true path of developmental knowledge, a mature and altruistic mode of thought. During the nineteenth century, those who saw themselves as developed, believed that they could act to determine the process of development for others deemed less-developed. The development problem was thus resolved by the doctrine of 'trusteeship,' a doctrine which became central to the historical project of European empire. John Henry Newman's argument encompassed both development and underdevelopment. Once Newman's understanding was extended from theology to political economy, corruption became synonymous with underdevelopment.
