Intoduction to Amartya Sen

Economy and society are two areas which are much hyped and very less understood. Some people see around and some see through. Hon. Amartya Sen has a view which can see through the issue. No doubt that he has won Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998. His ideas and observations of contemporary problems are exhaustive and I, many times amaze about how shortsighted we are when it comes to society. We think of development as key issue, but do we really have any idea about how develop world should look like?

At-least I still don’t know what we mean when we say ‘Developed society’. While comparing social standards, we indulge ourselves into the discussion of finance, politics, freedom etc… and don’t give Equality and Health its due attention. Why is it that when we hear economics we think of share market, budget and our own income and don’t think of the salary difference between the rich and poor OR unequal distribution of wealth. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone in our country gets food and health care irrespective of their social status even if that requires some compromise on our development plans? Why don’t we consider education, health (mortality rate) and equal opportunity as the Nation’s priority? How a Nation can develop when there are people who don’t have opportunity to survive? Many other issues are very well focused in Hon. Sen’s writing. I had known him from his books. “Freedom, Rationality, and Social Choice“, was the first book from Mr. Sen in my collection. His views on religion politics and national identities are broad and are speculated from many different social hierarchies. I find myself too small to comment on his excellence but I know one thing for sure that he has imparted the element of social perspective in me. His views are noble and he surely has a clear picture of how a good society should look like.

Close associate of Rabindranath Tagor; Sen, came from a high profile family. He has lived in many parts of world and he has shared his experiences in his books which demonstrate the level of understanding he have about our diverse society. In fact, many times broad word looks narrow in front of the description Mr. Sen has explained about different issues. In his book ‘Inequality Re-examined” he has tried to shift the focus from general parameters we use to gauge Nation’s status, to Human Mortality Index, Health, Equality in terms of opportunity, Education and Income of poor. It’s his image of society which separates him from other thinkers. His writings vary from economics to world disputes. Taking identity as a simple parameter to relate ourselves with others, he has exemplified the reason behind our understanding and thinking. Complex issues like terrorism and war are discreetly examined and explained by Mr. Sen. I am very much moved by the bigger picture Hon. Sen literature has shown to me and I would like to take it one step further, and at right time I also have a plan to model a virtual world with definitive elements from Mr. Sen.