1st Edition

An Analysis of Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom

By Janna Miletzki, Nick Broten Copyright 2017
    98 Pages
    by Macat Library

    98 Pages
    by Macat Library

    Amartya Sen uses his 1999 work Development as Freedom to evaluate the processes and outcomes of economic development.

    Having come to the conclusion that development is best summed up as the expansion of freedom, Sen examines traditional definitions and understandings of the term. He says people tend to think of freedoms as economic (the freedom to enter into market exchanges) or political (the freedom to vote and be an active citizen), and tries to understand why the definition has been so narrow hitherto. He concludes that an evaluation of true freedom must necessarily include the freedom to access social services such as healthcare, sanitation and nutrition, just as much as it must acknowledge economic and political freedoms.

    Evaluating the relevance of the current thinking behind development, Sen concludes that the term ‘freedom’ cannot simply be about income. In many ways, measuring income does not account for various “unfreedoms” (manmade or natural bars to wellbeing) that hinder development. Sen’s evaluation is all the more powerful for its clarity: "The freedom-centered perspective has a generic similarity to the common concern with "quality of life."

    Ways in to the text 

    Who is Amartya Sen?  

    What does Development as Freedom say? 

    Why does Development as Freedom matter? 

    Section 1: Influences 

    Module 1: The Author and the Historical Context 

    Module 2: Academic Context 

    Module 3: The Problem  

    Module 4: The Author's Contribution 

    Section 2: Ideas  

    Module 5: Main Ideas  

    Module 6: Secondary Ideas  

    Module 7: Achievement  

    Module 8: Place in the Author's Work  

    Section 3: Impact 

    Module 9: The First Responses 

    Module 10: The Evolving Debate 

    Module 11: Impact and Influence Today  

    Module 12: Where Next? 

    Glossary of Terms 

    People Mentioned in the Text 

    Works Cited

    Biography

    Janna Miletzki is researching for a PhD in human geography at LSE.

    Nick Broten was educated at the California Institute of Technology and the London School of Economics.