Amartya Sen the genius

(Originally Published 2022) 

Amartya Sen: 

INTRODUCTION  

This Great Economist made me think a lot after reading his work of Development as freedom along with his other work on capability (potential). According to Sen, Capability as a “person's ability to do valuable acts or reach valuable states of being; [it] represents the alternative combinations of things a person is able to do or be “(Sen 1993, p.30). The capabilities are opportunities or freedoms to achieve what an individual reflectively considers valuable. Its central tenant is that in evaluations one must look at each person not as a means to economic growth or social stability but as end. We must evaluate freedoms for people to be able to make decisions they value and work to remove obstacles to those freedoms, that is, expand people’s capabilities.    

Development as freedom (Sen, 1999, p.11) as per Sen, Political freedom (in the form of free speech and elections) help to promote economic security. Social opportunities (in the form of education and health facilities) facilitate economic participation. Economic facilities (in the form of opportunities of participation in trade and production) can help to generate personal abundance as well as public resources for social facilities. Freedoms of different kind can strengthen each other.   

 

 Below i elaborate with different examples about existence of economic prosperity linked with Development of freedom and capability approach.  
 
Sanitation Facilities:  

Our capability and freedom can only prosper if we embrace the connection it has with sanitation and how this is possible? 
 
After getting a job at a great firm in case an employee faces sanitation problems at his/her workplace the big chances are that will impact the work productivity and cause great psychological damage and if lucky to find good sanitation facilities at other work places, then the employee shall resign that earlier workplace and the unlucky shall suffer for Economic purposes. Bad sanitation even impacts Childrens attention in academics at school and college. Here, for developing great capability obstacle is bad sanitation facility and this is linked with social opportunity connected with health facilities in which sanitation is a big part without sanitation it will amplify health issues of a person.  
 

POLITY: Can you imagine if a government comes in power who's all ministers represent only capitalist interest? then what might be the consequences for laborer, workers as well employees passed out from great esteemed university with that big key (their degree). Aftermath will be, big working hours from 8 hours to 18 hours, no family time, huge electricity bills, costly internet (with low speed), costly medicines. Subsidies will be enjoyed by corporate sector in taxes and loan waiver. Unfortunately, here a person is not an end in itself but is a means for government and corporate selfish ends, which goes against Sen’s idea where a person is a means (Walker and Unterhalter, 2007, p.2). For graduates and PhD holders a day will be not far that all of them will be under huge debt and their degree certificates will not give them any job thanks to capitalist lobby who romances with each and every government in power. This was seen in USA in 1980's thanks to Ronald Reagan's legacy! (Saving capitalism Netflix documentary, you can watch) 

SOCIAL CUSTOMS: 
A strong society which embraces all faiths, genders, races, ethnicity, religions after all we all are from Africa! Hinduism which is a synonym for Brahminism made caste system and destroyed life of countless women, men for 2500 years. If this condition is not full filled economic prosperity will be a dream. Wahhabism promoted by state can see its human rights impact in middle east. Imagine at your workplace you are troubled and conspired to be killed for your caste or gender? Speechless right. As per Sen, Wahhabism, Brahminism, Taliban's need to remove obstacles to peruse opportunity or freedom which is capability that can help to achieve what a person considers valuable (Walker and Unterhalter , 2007, p. 2) 
 

HEALTH FACILITY: In corona virus pandemic, importance of hospital and existence of our economic life depends on great health with strong role of government to create health infrastructure we all realized. In this uncertain time citizens were sold for death as they were born in bad financial environment. Due to lack of negligence many sanitation workers die as their health are not taken seriously by society and government. Here Social freedom consisting of best health facility is compromised and lack of opportunities for good economic life that forces marginalized community to become sanitation workers. 

 

WHY SEN’S CAPABILITY APPROACH IS VITAL: 
Every individual of a state, society always value certain things which they strive to achieve throughout their life. The health of the potential(capability) of that person can be determined whether that person is given that much valuable "freedom and opportunity" (Walker and Unterhalter, 2007, p. 2) to get what he/she wants which they value or prioritized the most in their life. Here precaution needs to be taken that the output or result the person gives is not the end goal. Means of freedom, liberty that help to overcome the obstacles towards getting what is valuable that is essential. Role of civil society, role of culture, social customs, government attitude of that country have a big say to removal of obstacles which stops a person from achieving what he/she values the most in their personal life. Means can be called as nutrients and resources which helps a person to move towards the most cherished individual values. Example: In Covid 19 many earning householders died. Later their families also did suicides! Reason the govt, civil society, social customs didn't remove the obstacles and gave them the freedom to seek their most cherished goals of financial independence also of achieving emotional stability. 

WHY SEN’S DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM IS ESSENTIAL? 
In India, we are so much obsessed with the idea of merit believing that it can be only be checked by exams which puts marginalized community in risk and ignoring the value that merit can be developed by training of mind these fits best in the context of obtaining well paid jobs sponsored by state govt and private entities. Imagine whole population thrown out on roads to beg for life as their merit cannot be detected by exams. I question the neoliberals for menial jobs or poverty, merit is not required but for big bounty and wellbeing to get in hand merit is required is that the smell of savarna-capitalisim and neoliberals of every democratic country? and only few determined ones merit is detected and they get the big bounty! Economic Opportunity to Participate in the market for development is vital as per Sen but it is undermined 

 (Sen, 1999, p. 11). Here in this example again the cherished values a person strives is again compromised for maintaining a fake dominating power structure in society. 

TO PRESERVE MERIT BY COMPETITION IS EQUALITY IN MARKET ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION AT RISK? 

What i mean Savarna- capitalism? Every work passed down from generations based on birth. This work + birth combination was made successful as savarna knew that merit is developed by training of mind for years and it cannot be checked by keeping entrance exams. When constitutions of many democracies gave equality. To break the legs of equality and equity savarnas and neoliberals of many nations fooled their populations by these methods of exaggeration of entrance exam. Yes, exams and assessments do have a positive role supported by genuine reason only. Point is competition is fit at only those societies where every member of society holds lots of surplus wealth and after losing competition you are not stripped of livelihood forever. Economic development and its activity cannot sustain for long term if its pillar is based on to find only merit-based persons (which are very few from that population) capable of that activity (Example for 1 engineer vacancy out of 10 engineers only 1 is accepted for the job) for great economy. But to make economy sustainable with development for long term, all non- meritorious persons need to be involved in job force as work is their basic right. In simple words to preserve merit we do not need to undervalue co-operation and equal opportunity for all members of society to participate in market activities this is what Sen speaks (Sen, 1999, p.11). Else for finding meritorious people for all types of jobs competition will create Job crisis in that country. In developing democracies context, you are stripped of livelihood (of all types) as you lose competition and are made to depend with servitude on the coins thrown by neoliberal governments.      

 
HOW DEVELOPMENT AS FREEDOM FOR CAPITALIST IS PRESERVED? 

Another example is stock market where to invest and purchase share of every company i.e to become share holder of a company hardly any entrance exam and merit is required apart from few ID documents. For investing money into a company neoliberals will not ask merit and clearing any entrance exam as money from bank can create debt on their companies!  This was only a small example which i found to explain what Amartya Sen meant with economic participation of all in market activities (Sen,1999, p. 11)  

ENVIRONMENT FREEDOM FOR GOOD ECONOMIC LIFE: In many parts of world pollution of air, water, food creates health crisis which impacts economic life of people. Rich people prefer to leave such polluted places and poor ones stay in polluted places for economic life. Example is: Bhopal Gas tragedy, Taxes environment pollution caused Formosa company.    
 

CONCLUSION:  

 
Sen Says, Freedoms of different kind can strengthen each other (Sen, 1999, p.11) Freedoms are like different limbs of body and organs of body dependent on each other to work effectively. Sens more microlevel concern can be these, all-personal problems faced by humans are social problems thus they must be taken seriously. Freedom, justice, equality, wellbeing supports life on earth and those aspects makes us sentient beings. 

Socialism tied with wellbeing is the basis of economic prosperity where freedom and capability can go hand in hand.