Development as Freedom

Economics meets philosophy in this wide-ranging manifesto that identifies freedom as the agent of universal development as well as its goal. Sen, the 1998 Nobel laureate in economics, points out, among many things, that there has never been famine in functioning democracies, including modern India, Botswana, and Zimbabwe (democratic officeholders, unlike colonial functionaries or dictators, are obliged to respond to impending shortages). High per capita income does not necessarily mean longer life (poor residents of Kerala, India, can expect to live longer than richer American blacks). In much of the world, gender inequality causes distorted male-female ratios (thus, there are missing women ). Sen analyzes a myriad of such considerations and offers a thoughtful synthesis of welfare economics, political principles, and ethics. He asks fundamental questions, challenges common assumptions, and takes on diverse shibboleths. Lest you think a statement like low income is clearly one of the major causes of poverty is foolishly simplistic, hold on as he proceeds to demonstrate that there are other important causes for capability deprivation, as he characterizes poverty. Human development . . . is ah ally of the poor, he says. It is an indication of the topsy-turvy world in which we live that the school-teacher or the nurse feels more threatened by financial conservatism than does the army general. The lucid insights are abundant as Sen marshals scores of thinkers from Aristotle to Rabindranath Tagore, Confucius to Bentham. His text is, as well, a sly review of his contemporaries and a sagacious reappraisal of Adam Smith. Casual readers may find rough going with a lexicon like complemantarity or chosen functioning vector, but the expansive discussion will surely attract contemplative public policy practitioners. This learned book, more diagnostic than prescriptive, convinces us of freedom's value and utility in economic development. Less clear: how to bring freedom about in the world. Sen's book must nevertheless be seen as a seminal and influential text for students and makers of policy. (Kirkus Reviews)