{"id":68051,"date":"2022-06-09T05:39:31","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T09:39:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=68051"},"modified":"2022-06-16T17:54:26","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T21:54:26","slug":"development-as-freedom-amartya-sen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/development-as-freedom-amartya-sen\/","title":{"rendered":"Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen: Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom<\/em> about? What are the key messages to take away from the book?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Development as Freedom<\/em>, Amartya Sen argues that economic development goes beyond increasing wealth\u2014it\u2019s about expanding freedom. His book explores his reasoning, his definition of freedom and justice, and what it means to be poor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a brief overview of the key takeaways of Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Development as Freedom<\/em>: Amartya Sen Redefines Poverty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In his book Development as Freedom<\/em>, Amartya Sen takes a holistic view of poverty and characterizes it as impeding people\u2019s ability to lead the lives they want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen contends that income and wealth are only important as a means<\/em> to something else, not for their own sake. <\/strong>As such, poverty is about more than low income; it\u2019s about a lack of opportunity. Conversely, development is about more than simply increasing wealth; it\u2019s about <\/strong>increasing <\/em><\/strong>opportunity.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen contends that poverty is harmful and unjust because it deprives people of the ability to lead the lives they want, and development is valuable because it allows people to improve their lives as they<\/em> see fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Development as Freedom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sen defines development as the process of expanding the freedoms that people can exercise. Sen gives two reasons why defining development as freedom is better than other definitions of economic development: freedom\u2019s value and its efficacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Value of Freedom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Sen, wealth is merely an instrument for achieving the higher objective of attaining what we want: human flourishing and happiness. Freedom, on the other hand, is essential to achieving our objectives. In fact, enabling freedom is the <\/strong>purpose<\/em><\/strong> and <\/strong>value<\/em><\/strong> of economic development<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Efficacy of Freedom<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Achieving progress individually and as a nation depends on people having the ability to make their own choices. Sen says that having free agency is the most effective way for people to attain the things they value, <\/strong>like happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explaining Freedom<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now that we\u2019ve established Sen\u2019s basis for redefining poverty, we\u2019ll examine what specifically he means when he refers to development as \u201cfreedom.\u201d Sen\u2019s is a more expansive view of freedom than traditional definitions, including both negative rights<\/strong> (such as freedom from coercion) and positive rights<\/strong> (such as the rights to education and health care).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen argues that these freedoms are both the primary <\/strong>purpose<\/em><\/strong> of development, as well as the most effective <\/strong>means<\/em><\/strong> of development.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five Types of Freedom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sen cites five types of freedoms that advance a person\u2019s potential, each of which reinforces the others: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Democratic rights<\/li>
  2. Commercial liberties <\/li>
  3. Public provisions <\/li>
  4. Ethical guardrails<\/li>
  5. Safety nets <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Sen\u2019s Idea of Justice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Having redefined poverty and development, Sen turns to the idea of justice. Sen\u2019s view of justice <\/strong>is part of his broader case for freedom-centered development because \u201cjust\u201d (or equitable) opportunity is essential to increasing the five types of freedom<\/a> discussed earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Harvard philosopher John Rawls, whose ideas Sen echoes, argues that justice requires more than personal freedom. Similarly, Sen argues freedom requires more than just negative rights. Sen\u2019s freedom also requires a set of positive rights in order to ensure that the disadvantaged have opportunities to develop their potential. His belief in positive rights compels him to include public provisions and safety nets among his five types of freedom.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (Shortform note: By \u201cnegative rights,\u201d we mean the rights of a person to be free from<\/em> external violations of liberty, such as coercion. By \u201cpositive rights,\u201d we mean people\u2019s claim to<\/em> entitlements in order to secure a baseline level of welfare.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Role of the Market in Development<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Sen identifies two reasons why free markets are integral to development: <\/p>\n\n\n\n