Development as freedom / Amartya Sen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sen, Amartya, 1933-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic development.

Liberty.

Physical Description:

xvi, 366 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm

Edition:

First Anchor Books edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Anchor Books, 2000.

Summary:

Drawing upon an equal mastery of contemporary economic science and moral philosophy, Sen sets out a general theory of economic development that argues that individual human freedom is both the primary end of economic life and its principle means. Reviving a line of thinking going back to Adam Smith, Condorcet, and John Stuart Mill, "Development As Freedom" analyzes the social bases of economic growth, welfare, and individual freedom and applies his perspective to the contemporary global economy. In a world divided between those who fear the ruthlessness of the free market under prevailing conditions of global capitalism and those who fear the terror of authoritarian states that stifle individual liberty as well as initiative, Sen presents a necessary intellectual and moral framework of analysis and scrutiny. In the words of the Nobel Prize committee, he has "restored an ethical dimension to the discussion of economic problems." Sen allows economics once again, and in the context of a global economy, to address one of the largest questions of all: "What is the relation between our economic wealth and our ability to live as we would like?" He also confronts the dilemma that "despite unprecedented increases in overall opulence, the contemporary world denies elementary freedoms to vast numbers -- perhaps even the majority -- of people." "Development As Freedom" shows how in individual freedom -- the exclusive possession of no particular nation, region or historical, intellectual or religious tradition -- lies the capacity for political participation, economic development and social progress.

Contents:

The perspective of freedom

The ends and the means of development

Freedom and the foundations of justice

Poverty as capability deprivation

Markets, state and social opportunity

The importance of democracy

Famines and other crises

Women's agency and social change

Population, food and freedom

Culture and human rights

Social choice and individual behavior

Individual freedom as a social commitment.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [299]-351) and index.

ISBN:

0385720270

9780385720274

OCLC:

45146643