Development, at the national level, can be described as the ability of a group [population] to productively and efficiently organise itself. This paper takes a closer look at the evolution of socioeconomic development planning in Kuwait. Moreover, the research is unique in that it is the first study to consolidate both legal and literary references to describe and analyse Kuwait’s planning efforts up to and including Vision 2035. The review comes to the following conclusions. First, there is a longstanding belief in socioeconomic development planning, however, planning bodies were consistently ineffective in plan design and implementation. Second, when relating socioeconomic development plans to economic growth, the evidence suggests that the plans have not stimulated economic growth yet oil- stimulated growth promotes development planning efforts in Kuwait. In sum, this study exemplifies how the ambitious, yet unfulfilled, socioeconomic development goals in Kuwait further reinforces the criticality of a simpler ‘back-to-basics’ approach to planning.