This paper is a preliminary application of Heidegger's thinking to international development studies. We argue first that his account of truth makes just as much sense of cultural difference as it does of differences between historical epochs. Secondly, we assess Heidegger's critique of modernity by tracing the emergence of modern technology in relation to the history of science. In the third section, we argue that the mathematization of nature is a hermeneutic violence that makes possible the global assault of capital through realization of the essence of technology. In the final section, we argue that Heidegger is not a technological determinist and that "the saving power' he says is to be found in the essence of technology, along with the danger, resides in the global South.