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deegee24's review against another edition
5.0
Written for the general reader, but with extensive footnotes, this is an excellent overview of Sen's views on economic development across the globe. Without being confrontational, Sen articulates a very persuasive counterargument to much of "classical" economic theory--citing different kinds of evidence (statistics, testimonies, personal anecdotes, even literary analysis)--to make his case that democratic governance, gender equality, a free press, and education are critical components to a strong economy that improves the welfare of rich and poor alike.
pransu_123's review against another edition
5.0
A very elaborative reading that talks about the capabilities, human development and role of freedom in the expansion of both these perspectives. If you are up for learning on how freedom expands capabilities and human development, this is a must read.
banandrew's review against another edition
5.0
Amartya Sen: Nobel economist who published this book very shortly after winning his prize. Wikipedia says his research is on "welfare economics and social choice theory" and that he helped create the Human Development Index; all of the above should be enough reason to give him your attention.
I started reading Development as Freedom while in the middle of Joseph Stiglitz's (another Nobel economist) The Price of Inequality and found myself enjoying Amartya Sen's writing much more. Part of it was the writing---Stiglitz felt like he would never stop repeating himself to make sure you understood---but more was the attitude; Amartya Sen's book is incredibly positive, focusing on the potential for increasing freedom and quality of living for everyone, which came as a very stark contrast to Stiglitz's constant negatives about why income inequality is harmful.
I went into this book having little knowledge of (and having never seriously read about) development as a subject. It's a dense book to begin with, and even more so if you're not familiar with the language of the field, but still accessible if you're willing to take your time and work through it slowly. Amartya Sen does not waste words, so you are better off reading slowly with the understanding that you'll miss things otherwise.
Sen paints an incredibly comprehensive picture, dealing with free speech, free elections, wealth distribution, gender inequality, gender roles, population growth, the free market, and even things like income distribution within a family (not a topic I usually hear discussed, maybe just because of my ignorance of development theory) to describe individual freedom and quality of life. He spends little time dismissing fundamental arguments, instead choosing to more often discuss the merits of nuanced criticisms of his approaches along with his ideas. He brings in a wealth of philosophies into the debate, from Aristotle, Confucian philosophies, and early Indian philosophers to Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Examples to illustrate different approaches to development or how effective different policies have been are drawn from the whole world: Ireland, Ethiopia, Japan, China; Sen even compares development between different Indian states, taking time to describe reasons that Kerala's high level of development over its neighbors.
Notably, Sen doesn't tend to advocate specific approaches to solving problems (and even points this out), but instead seems to have a broader goal of changing the way people discuss and think about developmental issues. If there's any specific lesson of this book, it's that development necessarily is not simple! There's no one single problem that we can solve to fix the world and no magic bullet solution for any problem, but rather a variety of factors to consider and several kinds of individual's freedoms and capabilities to be worked towards.
Development as Freedom is one of the books that has most broadened my thinking, teaching me to look in the world at new ways. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn something new and willing to tackle difficult subjects.
I started reading Development as Freedom while in the middle of Joseph Stiglitz's (another Nobel economist) The Price of Inequality and found myself enjoying Amartya Sen's writing much more. Part of it was the writing---Stiglitz felt like he would never stop repeating himself to make sure you understood---but more was the attitude; Amartya Sen's book is incredibly positive, focusing on the potential for increasing freedom and quality of living for everyone, which came as a very stark contrast to Stiglitz's constant negatives about why income inequality is harmful.
I went into this book having little knowledge of (and having never seriously read about) development as a subject. It's a dense book to begin with, and even more so if you're not familiar with the language of the field, but still accessible if you're willing to take your time and work through it slowly. Amartya Sen does not waste words, so you are better off reading slowly with the understanding that you'll miss things otherwise.
Sen paints an incredibly comprehensive picture, dealing with free speech, free elections, wealth distribution, gender inequality, gender roles, population growth, the free market, and even things like income distribution within a family (not a topic I usually hear discussed, maybe just because of my ignorance of development theory) to describe individual freedom and quality of life. He spends little time dismissing fundamental arguments, instead choosing to more often discuss the merits of nuanced criticisms of his approaches along with his ideas. He brings in a wealth of philosophies into the debate, from Aristotle, Confucian philosophies, and early Indian philosophers to Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Examples to illustrate different approaches to development or how effective different policies have been are drawn from the whole world: Ireland, Ethiopia, Japan, China; Sen even compares development between different Indian states, taking time to describe reasons that Kerala's high level of development over its neighbors.
Notably, Sen doesn't tend to advocate specific approaches to solving problems (and even points this out), but instead seems to have a broader goal of changing the way people discuss and think about developmental issues. If there's any specific lesson of this book, it's that development necessarily is not simple! There's no one single problem that we can solve to fix the world and no magic bullet solution for any problem, but rather a variety of factors to consider and several kinds of individual's freedoms and capabilities to be worked towards.
Development as Freedom is one of the books that has most broadened my thinking, teaching me to look in the world at new ways. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn something new and willing to tackle difficult subjects.
isabelromero's review against another edition
5.0
Better the second read. Foundational for any discussion on development.
baghaii's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
In this book, Sen explains that there are some core freedoms that lead to development that then lead to even more freedom.
The basic freedoms include democracy. No one dies of a famine in a democracy, even a really poor one because the political classes feel the pain of the famine and attempt to do things to fix it.
They also include freedom from bondage. That means that people are free to seek out whatever work they would like.
They include education, healthcare, and the ability of women to approach equality.
The book was a long slog, and there are a lot of references to Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Friedrich Hayek. There are also references to some philosophers including Kant.
The basic freedoms include democracy. No one dies of a famine in a democracy, even a really poor one because the political classes feel the pain of the famine and attempt to do things to fix it.
They also include freedom from bondage. That means that people are free to seek out whatever work they would like.
They include education, healthcare, and the ability of women to approach equality.
The book was a long slog, and there are a lot of references to Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, and Friedrich Hayek. There are also references to some philosophers including Kant.
aldozirsov's review against another edition
4.0
ada yang mau barter buku ini?? just let me know ya....
nenobeano's review against another edition
1.0
This book was so dry it left me longing to swallow a spoonful of sand. Sen wrote this for people with degrees in economics, of which I am not one. I’ve read plenty of literature on development economics, and typically the writers understand that they aren’t writing for a dissertation board. Sen either doesn’t realize this, or doesn’t care.
I feel bad giving this one star because the ideas are great, and I can definitely see why Sen received a Nobel in economics. I just wish he had tried to make this book more comprehendible for the lay-person.
I feel bad giving this one star because the ideas are great, and I can definitely see why Sen received a Nobel in economics. I just wish he had tried to make this book more comprehendible for the lay-person.