EH101 MT6 Readings
Author: Sen, Amartya
Chapter: Perspective of freedom
pp. 1-34
Development as freedom
Introduction
Development is a process of improving peoples standard of living and happiness. Narrower ideas of
development are finding rises in peoples incomes, industrialisation, increase in GNP, improvements in
technology etc.
“Development can be seen, it is argued here, as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.
Focusing on human freedoms contrasts with narrower views of development, such as identifying development
with the growth of gross national product, or with the rise in personal incomes, or with industrialization, or
with technological advance, or with social modernization.”
Freedoms depend on social and economic factors. E.g. access to certain facilities can make them
people happy, political factors, e.g. able to be involved with political decision making.
“freedoms depend also on other determinants, such as social and economic arrangements (for example,
facilities for education and health care) as well as political and civil rights (for example, the liberty
to participate in public discussion and scrutiny).”
In order for development to occur, lack of freedoms need to be removed, e.g poverty, lack of
opportunities, deprivation, lack of access to resources, bad state. (page 3)
“Development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic
opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as
intolerance or overactivity of repressive states.”
Lack of certain freedoms explain poverty, and this leads to hunger, so people can’t get good nutrition,
they can’t get medicine needed for illnesses, have clothes, sanitation facilities etc.
“sometimes the lack of substantive freedoms relates directly to economic poverty which robs people of the
freedom to satisfy hunger, or to achieve sufficient nutrition, or to obtain remedies
For treatable illnesses, or the opportunity to be adequately clothed or sheltered, or to enjoy clean water or
sanitary facilities.”
Lack of access to public facilities leads to unequalness and a damaged society, e.g no access to
healthcare and education facilities, no policing institutions to stop crime. The lack of freedoms are
due to the fact that countries may have corrupt or not effective states.
“unfreedom links closely to the lack of public facilities and social care, such as the absence of epidemiological
programs, or of organized arrangements for health care or educational facilities, or of effective institutions for
the maintenance of local peace and order… the violation of freedom results directly from a denial of political
and civil liberties by authoritarian regimes and from imposed restrictions on the freedom to participate in the
social, political and economic life of the community.” (page 4)
Effectiveness and Interconnections
Freedom is required for development, because the evaluation of progress needs to consider the
freedoms people have, and whether they have been being improved or not. It also needs to factor in
the reason that development depends on the ability to have certain freedoms
Author: Sen, Amartya
Chapter: Perspective of freedom
pp. 1-34
Development as freedom
Introduction
Development is a process of improving peoples standard of living and happiness. Narrower ideas of
development are finding rises in peoples incomes, industrialisation, increase in GNP, improvements in
technology etc.
“Development can be seen, it is argued here, as a process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy.
Focusing on human freedoms contrasts with narrower views of development, such as identifying development
with the growth of gross national product, or with the rise in personal incomes, or with industrialization, or
with technological advance, or with social modernization.”
Freedoms depend on social and economic factors. E.g. access to certain facilities can make them
people happy, political factors, e.g. able to be involved with political decision making.
“freedoms depend also on other determinants, such as social and economic arrangements (for example,
facilities for education and health care) as well as political and civil rights (for example, the liberty
to participate in public discussion and scrutiny).”
In order for development to occur, lack of freedoms need to be removed, e.g poverty, lack of
opportunities, deprivation, lack of access to resources, bad state. (page 3)
“Development requires the removal of major sources of unfreedom: poverty as well as tyranny, poor economic
opportunities as well as systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities as well as
intolerance or overactivity of repressive states.”
Lack of certain freedoms explain poverty, and this leads to hunger, so people can’t get good nutrition,
they can’t get medicine needed for illnesses, have clothes, sanitation facilities etc.
“sometimes the lack of substantive freedoms relates directly to economic poverty which robs people of the
freedom to satisfy hunger, or to achieve sufficient nutrition, or to obtain remedies
For treatable illnesses, or the opportunity to be adequately clothed or sheltered, or to enjoy clean water or
sanitary facilities.”
Lack of access to public facilities leads to unequalness and a damaged society, e.g no access to
healthcare and education facilities, no policing institutions to stop crime. The lack of freedoms are
due to the fact that countries may have corrupt or not effective states.
“unfreedom links closely to the lack of public facilities and social care, such as the absence of epidemiological
programs, or of organized arrangements for health care or educational facilities, or of effective institutions for
the maintenance of local peace and order… the violation of freedom results directly from a denial of political
and civil liberties by authoritarian regimes and from imposed restrictions on the freedom to participate in the
social, political and economic life of the community.” (page 4)
Effectiveness and Interconnections
Freedom is required for development, because the evaluation of progress needs to consider the
freedoms people have, and whether they have been being improved or not. It also needs to factor in
the reason that development depends on the ability to have certain freedoms
