Other Aspects to Development

The part of Sen’s work that I found most enticing was his emphasis on a broader outlook for development, as opposed to the narrow conception recent economists have had concerning this topic. While Sen contends that industrialization and monetary output is an important part of development, he argues that a better goal would be to increase human capability to ensure individual success . Without consideration of aspects other than income there is no assurance that development will take place. A rich man can still have bad health, poor education, lack of political involvement, or an inability to choose an occupation that he wishes. While Sen's thesis may seem obvious after reading this book, it is strange to consider the ways in which our society helps “developing” countries the most – through monetary donations. This is not to say that economic aid is not needed or appreciated, but rather that it does not complete the puzzle. With it should come advances in democratization, education, and health care.

Another aspect of Sen’s work that I connected with was his lack of arrogance when promoting his idea that freedom is development. He makes a point to state that “the approach of ‘development as freedom’ is not so much to order all states into one ‘complete ordering’ but to draw attention to important aspects of the progress of development” (33). The individualization of his agenda is reassuring in the acceptance that not all countries would be able to develop in the same manner. In fact, depending on political situations and social justices development as freedom may look completely different from one country to the next. This relates to the idea of culture that has been discussed on the blog already. If traditional ways must be given up, it should be up to the people of that community to decide how best to do this, or what traditions will be let go of. In this way Sen is careful not to overstep the boundary between aid in development and intrusion in way of life.