In this radical book, Patrick Chabal reveals how the future of the West is now inextricably linked to that of the non-West. He argues that the postcolonial challenge exposes the limitation of Western social thought to explain many pressing social and economic issues, domestic and global. The End of Conceit concludes that, ultimately, what the West needs is not more and better theory but an entirely new way of thinking - one that will put an end to its current deep-seated conceit.