'Epistemological dependency'-cognitive relativism in development thinking

Nowadays fashionable postmodernism entered the realm of development studies as post‐development. Although post‐development has been widely criticised on account of its political and economic romanticism, many critics nevertheless wrongly praise the methodological ‘challenge’ posed by post‐developmentalism. It will be argued that postmodernism's cognitive relativism cannot be a serious approach to investigate development problems. A closer look at the epistemological divide within the social sciences (Hegelianism vs. positivism) helps to understand why postmodernism's cognition attracts even many of its critics and why universal reason needs to be defended. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.