Development as Freedom

Posted on 10 November 2017 by Amartya Sen

By the winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, an essential and paradigm altering framework for understanding economic development for both rich and poor in the twenty first century Freedom, Sen argues, is both the end and most efficient means of sustaining economic life and the key to securing the general welfare of the world s entire population Releasing the idea of individual freedom from association with any particular historical, intellectual, political, or religious tradition, Sen clearly demonstrates its current applicability and possibilities In the new global economy, where, despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers perhaps even the majority of people he concludes, it is still possible to practically and optimistically regain a sense of social accountability Development as Freedom is essential reading. Download Development as Freedom – kino-fada.fr Here s the thing about Amartya Sen everything he writes oozes humility and compassion, and his optimism is both refreshing and contagious His arguments are consistently predicated upon a genuine respect for humanity and a desire to eliminate the poverty that plagues most of the world For this reason, it s hard not to like him But of course there s a but when it comes down to the actual content and evidence of some of his works there are some gaping holes that fundamentally undermine the Here s the thing about Amartya Sen everything he writes oozes humility and compassion, and his optimism is both refreshing and contagious His arguments are consistently predicated upon a genuine respect for humanity and a desire to eliminate the poverty that plagues most of the world For this reason, it s hard not to like him But of course there s a but when it comes down to the actual content and evidence of some of his works there are some gaping holes that fundamentally undermine the persuasiveness of his arguments While he s not as dogmatic as ...The first thing you realize from reading Amartya Sen is what a fundamentally nice human being he must be I m serious Waves of decency and kindness just eminate from the page And what s , he seems to believe that for the most part, other people are just as nice as he is It s such a relief to read someone who s brilliant but not cynical The other thing i really liked about this book was that it provides the ideal meeting place for my University of Chicago steeped intellect and my bleeding The first thing you realize from reading Amartya Sen is what a fundamentally nice human being he must be I m serious Waves of decency and kindness just emi...Don t be dazzled by the Nobel prize, this is a tedious and ultimately vapid book See reviews by E and Andy that pretty much nail it And I d just like to add, Sen has an unfailing eye for a punchy quotation that is amazinglyboring than his own text, and that like his own text makes either no point or a self evident one John Hicks, one of the leading economists of this century who himself was farutility oriented than freedom oriented, did put the issue with admirable clari Don t be dazzled by the Nobel prize, this is a tedious and ultimately vapid book See reviews by E and Andy that pretty much nail it And I d just like...Read for class.Very interesting book, discussing the idea of societal independence and personal freedom to be most necessary for development Provides excellent examples and reasoning.Finally, I d like to add that the author sounds like a genuinely good person and I d l...There s a nice 40 page essay in here about the importance of considerations other than GDP in developing countries Unfortunately it is buried by 260 pages of poor writing in which Sen repeats himself repeats himself distinguishes his arguments or perspectives into type A, type B, and type C, when in reality A, B, and C are not all that different, or their distinction does not seriously enhance understanding of the subject...This is a treatise on the importance of individual freedom, both as an end in itself and as the best means of economic development It is based on a series of lectures Sen gave in 1996 7, which netted him a Nobel Prize in Economic Science Nearly two decades later, all of his points seem obvious, but I bet they were revolutionary at the time His writing is an odd mixture of turgid institutional ese with occasional hilarious sarcastic asides or brilliantly lucid and forthright sentences Here s This is a treatise on the importance of individual freedom, both as an end in itself and as the best means of economic development...I misunderstood the title, believing Sen s thesis was that economic development leads to greater freedom hey, now that we re so rich, look at all the things we can do which would have been a very short and shallow book Instead, I think the idea of the title is that increasing individuals freedoms will lead to economic development Not freedom like how a libertarian would define it which we all know is simply freedom from government regulation and taxes sorry libertarians, but that about I misunderstood the title, believing Sen s thesis was that economic development leads to greater freedom hey, now that we re so rich, look at all the things we can do which would have been a very short and shallow book Instead, I think the idea of the title is that increasing individuals freedoms will lead to economic development Not freedom like how a libertarian would define it which we all know is simply freedom from government regulation and taxes sorry libertarians, but that about sums it all up quite nicely Sen s freedom is the power to vote, the promise of healthcare and social safety nets, the opportunity to get job training, to get funding for a good education, and for women specifically to be able to make choices about how many children they wish to have and to be able to rise and succeed in the male dominated workforce The freedom Sen defines is geared towards actions which,...I don t know what to make of this On the one hand, Sen s notion of increasing capabilities and the removing of unfreedoms strikes me as a very noble idea On the other hand, Sen s approach is quite often absolutely fucked in practice hey there, microcredit.Look, I guarantee that Amartya Sen is a profoundly compassionate person who really does care about bringing the world s poor up, but like many of his fellow travelers in the Clinton ish and Gates Foundation esque world of nice people try I don t know what to make of this On the one hand, Sen s notion of increasing capabiliti...I picked up this book not knowing the exact thesis hint to past self it s the title but hoping to get an analysis of ideas of development with a depth that your typical 25 page academic paper doesn t have space for What I got instead of the desired depth, was huge breadth instead My chief complaint about this book is that I felt it would formulate a sensitive and productive viewpoint on an issue and then promptly fail to engage with that viewpoint on a contemporary timescale Oftentimes, in I picked up this book not knowing the exact thesis hint to past self it s the title but hoping to get an analysis of ideas of development with a depth that your typical 25 page academic paper doesn t have space for What I got instead of the desired depth, was huge breadth instead My chief complaint about this book is that I felt...In one of the last notes written by Gandhi, he said I will give you a Talisman Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him Will he gain anything by it Will it restore him to control over his own life and destiny In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for hungry and spiritually starving milli In one of the last notes written by Gandhi, he said I will give you a Talisman Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him Will he gain anything by it Will it restore him to control over his own life and destiny In other words, will it lead to Swaraj for hungry and spiritually starving millions Then you will find your doubts and yourself melting away Development as Freedom echoes Gandhi s idea of swaraj or...

English
10 November 2017

Amartya Sen