Amartya Development Response

Question #1. What is development?

According to Amartya Sen, development is a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy and removing all sources of unfreedoms. Besides the growth of GNP and individual wealth, the real freedoms depend on social and economic arrangement (facilities for education and health) as well as political and civil rights to participate in public discussion and scrutiny.

Question #2. Is this an expansive or narrower view of development?

Amartya Sen provides a really expansive view of development. In contrast with the narrower views of development which only relies on the growth of GNP or economic growth, Amartya’s view essentially focuses on the expanding of people’s overall freedoms. Increasement in overall opulence is not enough as the lack of public facilities and social care or denial of political and civil liberties will also cause respective unfreedoms, which undermine people’s overall welfares.

Question #3. What are some of the sources of unfreedoms development requires being removed?

Unfreedoms needed to be removed mainly include economic unfreedom, neglect of public facility, and denial of political and civil liberties. Both economic poverty and restriction for people to participate in the labor market or free exchange can be considered as economic unfreedom and will also breed other types of unfreedoms. The lack of public facility like sanitary arrangements and education institutions will take people’s freedoms of receiving health care and education. Political and social unfreedoms are commonly characterized by the denial of political and civil liberties, for example, the freedom of speech and participating political activity like election.

Question #4. Why is free and sustainable agency a major engine of development?

What people can positively achieved is influenced by their overall freedoms which offer their opportunities to participate in their economic, social and political life and influence the whole society and nation. For example, the freedom to exchange will increase the overall production and transaction in the market, and consequently boost the country’s economy. Political freedoms like the freedom of speech and voting will increase democratic government’s incentive to make good decisions which propel pubic progression and finally win elections. This will further promote social development and people’s freedoms.

Question #5. What does Amartya Sen say about being generically against markets?

Amartya believes that there is no reason to be generically against markets and having the freedom to exchange is just same as having the freedom for conversation. He believes that the freedom to enter market significantly contributes to the economy and all bondages and captivity keeping people from entering should be removed.

Question #6. What was the story of Kader Mia? What was the penalty of his economic unfreedom?

The story of Kader Mia happened in Dhaka where communal riots between Hindus and Muslims occurred every day. Because of the poverty and starvation of his family, Kader Mia had to go out to work in hostile area and earn some money. One day he was knifed on the street on his way to work by some communal thugs. Although he was sent to the hospital after that, the penalty of his economic unfreedom finally turned out to be his death.

Question #7. Who were Condorcet and Malthus? What were their primary arguments regarding development and fertility?

Condorcet, the great 18th century French rationalist, believed that greater security, more education, and more freedom of reflected decisions would decrease fertility rate and therefore restrain population growth. However, his contemporary Malthus disagreed with him and argued that besides the difficulty of acquiring enough necessaries of life, nothing will disable great number of people to marry early and rear large families.