Poverty and Responsibility

Like many others, the argument that I was most interested in had to do with the definition of poverty and how it has to do with a lot more than simply wealth. As Sen states, "The usefulness of wealth lies in the things that it allows us to do" (14). It is from this wealth that some people find freedom. Poverty to Sen is much more than simply not having money, which is how many people have been taught to understand the word. Poverty is the lack of basic needs, happiness, and well being. The story about Annapura helped me visualize the varying aspects of poverty as these three different people are described, each of which is poor in a different way. This idea of poverty than Sen explores also brings about the idea of relative poverty and how the basic ideas of what makes a person poor is completely dependent on the culture and class divides in the varying society.

The chapter I found most interesting was the last one where Sen stated, "People themselves must have responsibility for the development and change of the world in which they live" (282). This statement is an incredible way to wrap up everything that Sen has presented throughout the entire book. His approach to development through more humanitarian measures is truly amazing. Instead of simply trying to find quick fixes for the economic problems that the world is facing he is trying to dig deeper to the roots of the problem at look at it from a very different perspective. He is providing amazing insight by not only analyzing the money issues, but also analyzing the psychological effects that all of this has on the people that are effected and how these issues relate to poverty. However, his statement rings very clearly that the only way for any of these problems to be fixed is for the people that are effected by them to take action. As he also states, "Who better to rely on than oneself to look after one's interests and problems?" (283). So I guess the main message I received was that the only solution is action. Anybody can read what Sen has to say, but nothing is going to change until people start becoming accountable for their own actions and start taking measures to make things better.