Freedom | EssayIvy.com

Surname

Name:

Course name:

Course instructor:

Date of submission:

Amartya Sen

The book Development as Freedom, written by Indian Economist Amartya Sen focuses

on the nature of freedom regarding the economy and politics of a land. The author is of the

opinion that freedom simultaneously the means and goals of development. He describes

underdevelopment as unfreedom. To him, development is the overall process of eliminating

forms of unfreedom while at the same time growing the people’s capabilities. He places the

freedom of people to be the foundation of his theories.

The perspective of freedom

For Amartya San being free means that the citizens increased access and opportunities to

the thing they value most. He challenges the idea where development is measured by how much

the economy has grown. Sen, however, agrees that an increase of income earned by the citizens

makes a contribution to their freedom increasing. A major weakness on this truth is that income

on its effects on most people. He states that the effects can be uneven in the best outcome and

detrimental when in the worst-case scenario. Therefore, implementing radical measures in

redistribution of wealth and resources is necessary if the poor people are to benefit from the

increased incomes (p. 440).

Surname

Despite the general notion, many social issues like famines, inability to fulfill basic

needs, poverty, violations of rights and freedoms and the neglect of women agency continue to

prevail. To Sen previous measures to counter any of these occurrences have all been erroneous

and incorrect. He is mainly focused on the flourishing of any person as the door to poverty as

opposed to economic growth. All people have a right to enjoy the pleasantries of life equally and

the things they consider important (p. 440).

Forms of un-freedom

Amartya Sen believes that the process of development involves removing the varying

types of unfreedom. These unfreedoms often leave the people with little or no choice or

opportunities to pursue a thing they regard as important. He describes underdevelopment as

unfreedom. To him, development is the overall process of eliminating forms of unfreedom while

at the same time growing the people’s capabilities (p. 441).

According to Sen, the main issues that limit freedom are tyranny, poverty, and social

deprivation, neglect of social and public facilities, low economic chances and poor tolerance to

certain situations. To him, the underdevelopment challenge will be solved once these factors are

removed. His focus is on political, instrumental freedoms, security, good economics, and smooth

public and social facilities. A guarantee on the transparency of most matters is also a major focus

for Sen. All the above factors have to work together and should be connected. The arrangement

of the society should be based on the how these arrangements contribute towards the

enhancement and guarantee of freedoms in that society. They should be the active determinants

rather that the passive agents in the society. All the factors named should act in a way that

improves the overall well-being of individuals in any society (p. 441).

Surname

The capability theory when used together with economic growth brings little or no results

to the table. Economic theory should not be used as a goal of development but rather as a

measure of development.

Culture has been greatly linked with both the capabilities approach theory and social

development. This link is because culture is used as a measure of economic growth in any state

or republic. Culture has been associated with the capitalist economic views like labor, trade, and

financial capital. Despite this association, it does not lose its cultural form. Culture also binds

most societies together and consequently gives its basic structure that is useful when taking

development interventions. Governments, NGOs, agencies and activities in the grass-root,

conduct some of the interventions in development (p. 441).

Amartya Sen’s approach a side that is culturally specific and has capabilities that are

controlled by institutions and structures within the society. This control is only possible once the

capabilities are classified individually, structurally or socially. The capabilities are dependent on

the roles of institutions, entitlements and personal relations within the society. Cultures are

vulnerable to change due to the effects of globalization. Coupled with class, sex and politics

many institutions, incentives and social structures are influential in the development process. The

link between these structures, institutions and incentives and the society and individuals leads to

the realization of capabilities as development determinants within a society (p. 441).

Processes and Opportunities

It is a clear conclusion that the view of freedom from Sen’s book is that it involves two

phases. The process phase allows for the liberty of decisions and actions by the citizens. The

Surname

opportunities phase describes the scenario where the citizens have a chance regardless of their

social or personal circumstances. Unfreedom can emerge where the processes are unequal. A

perfect example is when the people’s voting, social and civic rights have been violated in any

way. If people lack the opportunity to achieve what regard to be a basic want can also be a form

of unfreedom. An example here is where the citizens face involuntary starvation or where they

are unable to escape infant mortality (p. 442)

Differentiating the process and opportunities aspect of freedom is quite distinctive. Both

the process and opportunities involved in freedom are equally and individually important. They

also have a relationship with the development of freedom (p. 442).

Two roles of freedom

Sen states that the freedoms of people are the basic building blocks for development. For

this reason, he states that there should be a lot of attention on how the capabilities of these people

can be increased. The two main reasons for making individuals freedoms are arrived at when

reviewing the concept of development. Effectiveness and evaluation are the reasons and can be

used together to make an analysis of the importance of individual freedom in development. How

successful a community is can be can be evaluated using the freedom enjoyed by the people (p.

442). Other traditional methods focus on other informative aspects like real income and utility.

When a person has more freedom to perform tasks they value most, has a significant effect on

the individuals freedom. It also increases the opportunity for that individual to increase their

income. Another reason is that having this kind of freedom determines the individual’s personal

initiative and their social effectiveness. Having more freedom enable people to concentrate more

on themselves and consequently, influence their external surroundings (p. 442).

Surname

Conclusion

According to the book Development as Freedom, written by Amartya Sen, a short period

has been necessary for people to apply the human development paradigm in the evaluation,

understanding and measurement of poverty in development. The paradigm has been extensively

used for this purpose in systems that are involved in academia of policymaking. Understanding

the work of Sen is critical in cracking the basics of this paradigm. He describes

underdevelopment as unfreedom. To him, freedom means that people can make decisions and

perform tasks that they consider as crucial in their lives. Understanding the roles of freedom

gives the involved organizations a better method of evaluating how developed a society is

depending on the effectiveness of the citizens. A clear understanding of the processes and

opportunities backs this move on the involved in the creation of freedom to citizens.

Place new order. It's free, fast and safe

Paper type

Deadline

Page count

550 words

Total price: $ 15.00

Our customers say

Jeff Curtis

USA, Student

"I'm fully satisfied with the essay I've just received. When I read it, I felt like it was exactly what I wanted to say, but couldn’t find the necessary words. Thank you!"

Ian McGregor

UK, Student

"I don’t know what I would do without your assistance! With your help, I met my deadline just in time and the work was very professional. I will be back in several days with another assignment!"

Shannon Williams

Canada, Student

"It was the perfect experience! I enjoyed working with my writer, he delivered my work on time and followed all the guidelines about the referencing and contents."