Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen Flashcards
(18 cards)
How does Amartya Sen define development?
A: Development is the expansion of real freedoms that people enjoy—not merely the rise of income, GDP, or industrialization. True development removes “unfreedoms” such as poverty, tyranny, lack of public services, and social deprivation.
Q2: What are “unfreedoms” according to Sen?
A: Major sources of unfreedom include:
Poverty
Poor health and education
Political repression
Social exclusion
Development involves actively removing these constraints on people’s agency and well-being.
Q3: What distinguishes Sen’s approach from traditional economic views of development?
A: Traditional views focus on means (income, growth), while Sen emphasizes ends—the freedom to live the kind of life one values. For Sen, means (like income) matter only if they expand real opportunities.
🧭 Dual Role of Freedom
Q4: What are the two reasons freedom is central to development?
Evaluative reason – Development should be assessed by how much it expands people’s freedoms.
Instrumental reason – Freedoms (e.g. education, civil rights) are also tools for achieving other development outcomes.
Q5: What are Sen’s five “instrumental freedoms”?
A:
Political freedoms (free speech, elections)
Economic facilities (access to markets, employment)
Social opportunities (education, health)
Transparency guarantees (openness, trust)
Protective security (safety nets, disaster relief)
These work synergistically to expand overall capabilities.
📊 Critique of Conventional Development Metrics
Q6: Why does Sen critique GDP and income-based measures of development?
A: They are narrow and misleading:
People in lower-income countries (e.g., Kerala, China) often live longer and healthier lives than those in wealthier nations (e.g., African Americans in the U.S.).
Income doesn’t always translate into real opportunities or well-being.
Q7: What example does Sen give of development failing despite high income?
A: African Americans in the U.S. have much higher incomes than people in Kerala or China, but lower life expectancy—showing how social and institutional factors impact freedoms beyond income.
🔄 Markets and Economic Freedom
Q8: What is Sen’s view on markets and freedom?
A: Markets are valuable not just for efficiency, but as a freedom in themselves—the ability to exchange and interact economically is a basic human liberty. However, market outcomes must be scrutinized, and state action is often necessary to address exclusion or inequality.
Q9: How does Sen criticize both pro- and anti-market positions?
A: He argues both sides miss the point by focusing solely on outcomes. The freedom to participate in markets matters independently of efficiency or utility gains.
🏛️ Institutions and Participation
Q10: Why are democratic institutions important to development?
A: Democracies are better at:
Preventing famines (due to accountability)
Enabling public debate
Respecting civil liberties
Sen famously asserts that no famine has ever occurred in a functioning democracy.
Q11: How does Sen view tradition and cultural values in development?
A: Traditions must be open to participatory revision. People should have the freedom to choose which traditions to keep or discard. Imposed traditionalism (e.g., Taliban’s restrictions) undermines freedom and development.
🧠 Philosophical and Ethical Foundations
Q12: What does Sen mean by the “capability approach”?
A: Development should focus on what people are able to do and be—their capabilities, not just their resources or utility. It reflects the freedom to achieve valued functionings (e.g., being healthy, educated, free).
Q13: How does Sen redefine poverty?
A: Poverty is not just low income—it is capability deprivation: the inability to live a life of dignity, opportunity, and choice. This includes ill health, illiteracy, and social exclusion.
Q14: What is Sen’s criticism of utilitarianism?
A: Utilitarianism overemphasizes mental satisfaction (e.g., happiness), potentially justifying inequity if the oppressed adapt expectations. Sen instead emphasizes freedom, agency, and real opportunities.
💡 Practical Examples and Illustrations
Q15: What does the story of Kader Mia illustrate?
A: A Muslim laborer, killed during riots while seeking work, illustrates how economic unfreedom (poverty) can lead to social and political vulnerability. Unfreedoms are interconnected and reinforce one another.
Q16: How does Sen respond to the “Lee Thesis”?
A: The idea that authoritarian rule promotes growth (as suggested by Lee Kuan Yew) is empirically weak. Sen argues that freedom and development reinforce each other, and democracies better manage crises.
🔁 Conclusion and Policy Implications
Q17: What are the key policy implications of Sen’s framework?
A: Focus not just on income growth but on enhancing capabilities - “Capabilities”: the set of functionings available to us.
Invest in education, health, and political freedoms
Empower individuals to be agents of change
Encourage public participation and debate in setting priorities
Q18: Why is freedom both the means and the end of development?
A: Because freedom:
Enables people to live meaningful lives (end)
Empowers them to contribute to development (means)
Thus, development must expand agency, dignity, and choice—not just wealth.>
