Development as Freedom

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.

Genres: Economics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Politics, International Development, Academic, India

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Amartya Kumar Sen is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society’s poorest members.

Sen was best known for his work on the causes of famine, which led to the development of practical solutions for preventing or limiting the effects of real or perceived shortages of food. He is currently the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is also a senior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he previously served as Master from the years 1998 to 2004. He is the first Asian and the first Indian academic to head an Oxbridge college.

Amartya Sen's books have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security. In 2006, Time magazine listed him under "60 years of Asian Heroes" and in 2010 included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".

Reviews

[Mari]

3.5
Tengo una relación amor-odio con mi clase de política global 🫠
Creo que el desarrollo en términos de capacidades lo explica mejor Nussbaum, sin embargo Zen también contextualiza muy bien :)

[Gustavo HdzMry]

Sen expone de manera simple su visión del desarrollo de una sociedad como parte inseparable del verdadero objetivo que es la preservación y expansión de la libertad. Me gustó el análisis acerca de las hambrunas y, cómo estas, son resultado de las restricciones institucionales que se ejercen desde un nivel local como desde las potencias extranjeras. Al final, la pobreza, o al falta de capacidades que permiten el desarrollo de las potenciales de las personas, es una privación de la libertad.

[Gustavo HdzMry]

En este libro Sen expone su perspectiva del desarrollo, en particular, su propuesta de las "capacidades". En nuestros tiempos, las razones instrumentales de la economía se toman como metas del desarrollo, cuando en realidad, el crecimiento económico, la producción y el trabajo, si bien importantes en la mejora de las oportunidades y calidad de vida de las personas, su fin último son la libertad humana.

[Sebastian Uribe Díaz]

Un libro para todo economista y publico en general que se interese por el tema de la pobreza y las soluciones a esta en el mundo. Un enfoque muy ocmpleto. Muy recomendable.

[Lucía Vijil Saybe]

Lo relevante del libro, "El desarrollo es el fin y medio de la libertad".