Most development thought is based upon the assumption that the uplifting of the world’s poor is to be carried out by elite actors (states, corporations, NGO’s) , rather than the poor themselves. This way of thinking, paradoxically, helps justify new ways of oppressing and exploiting the poor.In this talk Professor Benjamin Selwyn from the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex, launches his book The Struggle for Development. He introduces the concept of labour-led development to illuminate, theoretically and empirically, ways in which the poor can be masters of their own development.