Amartya Sen Quotes. Amartya Sen is well known Indian for economics and philosophy. Here we provide the best Amartya Sen Quotes.
Amartya Sen Quotes
Amartya Sen is an Indian economist and philosopher, renowned for his work in welfare economics, social choice theory, and development economics.
He has made significant contributions to understanding poverty, inequality, and human development. Sen’s capability approach, which emphasizes the importance of individuals’ capabilities and freedoms in assessing well-being and development, has had a profound influence on social and economic policy worldwide.
Here’s some basic information about Amartya Sen:
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Amartya Sen |
| Date of Birth | November 3, 1933 |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Profession | Economist, Philosopher |
| Fields of Expertise | Welfare Economics, Social Choice Theory, Development Economics |
| Notable Works | – “Development as Freedom” |
| – “The Idea of Justice” | |
| Awards | – Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998) |
| – Bharat Ratna (India’s highest civilian award, 1999) | |
| Education | – Bachelor’s Degree from Presidency College, Kolkata |
| – Master’s Degree from Trinity College, Cambridge | |
| – Doctorate from Trinity College, Cambridge |
Amartya Sen’s quotes are important for their profound insights into human development, social justice, and economic well-being. They challenge conventional wisdom and inspire action towards a more equitable and inclusive society, drawing attention to the multidimensional nature of human flourishing.
Amartya Sen Quotes
“Freedom is not only the central value of development, it is also the principal means of development.” – Amartya Sen
“Democracy is a universal value.” – Amartya Sen
“People’s identities as Indians, as Asians, or as members of the human race, seemed to give way – quite suddenly – to sectarian identification with Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh communities.”
“The argument that the two concerns are different and that poverty is less urgent than inequality does not survive scrutiny.” – Amartya Sen
“No famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy.” – Amartya Sen
“Economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable – and unethical.” – Amartya Sen
“The success of a society is to be evaluated primarily by the freedoms that members of the society enjoy.” – Amartya Sen
“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a human being.” – Amartya Sen
“Poverty is the deprivation of opportunity.” – Amartya Sen
“You have to be interested in inequality. The issue of inequality and that of poverty are not separable.”
“There is no such thing as a perfectly functioning free market economy.” – Amartya Sen
“Globalization is a complex issue, partly because economic globalization is only one part of it. Globalization is greater global closeness, and that is cultural, social, political, as well as economic.” – Amartya Sen
“Development cannot be divorced from democracy, and democracy is meaningless without development.” – Amartya Sen
“I believe that virtually all the problems in the world come from inequality of one kind or another.” – Amartya Sen
“There is considerable evidence that women’s education and literacy tend to reduce the mortality rates of children.”
“Starvation is the characteristic of some people not having enough food to eat, not the characteristic of there being not enough food to eat.” – Amartya Sen
“We live in a world where virtually everything we do is dependent on others, from arts and culture to farmers who grow the food we eat.” – Amartya Sen
“If a theory of justice is to guide reasoned choice, then the identification of fully just social arrangements is neither necessary nor sufficient.” – Amartya Sen
“The lack of economic freedom could be a major reason for the loss of liberty.” – Amartya Sen
“Economics can be made more productive by paying greater attention to the ethical considerations that shape human behavior.”
“A defeated argument that refuses to be obliterated can remain very alive.” – Amartya Sen
“The market economy succeeds not because some people’s interests are suppressed but because people gain individual advantage from it.” – Amartya Sen
“Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people.” – Amartya Sen
“While I am interested in both economics and philosophy, the union of my interests in the two fields far exceeds their intersection.” – Amartya Sen
“We live in a world where there is a need for pluralistic institutions and for recognizing different types of freedom.” – Amartya Sen
“Anything that increases the voice of young women tends to reduce the fertility rate.”
“Anything that increases the voice of young women tends to reduce the fertility rate.” – Amartya Sen
“Indian women should be allowed to think about equality.” – Amartya Sen
“Unceasing change turns the wheel of life, bringing joy and liberation to suffering sentient beings.” – Amartya Sen
“Progress is more plausibly judged by the reduction of deprivation than by the further enrichment of the opulent.” – Amartya Sen
“I remain instinctively hostile to communitarian philosophy and communitarian politics.” – Amartya Sen
“The purely rational economic man is close to being a social moron.”
“There are few subjects that match the social significance of women’s education.” – Amartya Sen
“Hardly any famine affects more than 5-10% of the population; silence is a powerful enemy of social justice.” – Amartya Sen
“The themes brought by anti-globalization protesters are important, but their theses are often oversimplified.” – Amartya Sen
“Prolixity is not alien to us; we are able to talk at some length.” – Amartya Sen
“Our abilities depend on interaction with each other.” – Amartya Sen
“Peace lies in recognizing our diverse associations and affiliations rather than rigidly dividing ourselves into hardened groups.” – Amartya Sen
“There are Muslims of all kinds; the idea of closing them into a single identity is wrong.”
“I left Delhi shortly after Collective Choice and Social Welfare was published in 1970.” – Amartya Sen
“The best hope for peace in the world lies in the simple but far-reaching recognition that we all have many different associations and affiliations, and we need not see ourselves as being rigidly divided by a single categorization of hardened groups, which confront each other.” – Amartya Sen
“It is engaging to go back to Bangladesh, where some of my closest friends and collaborators live and work.” – Amartya Sen
“A society can be Pareto optimal and still perfectly disgusting.” – Amartya Sen
“Human ordeals thrive on ignorance; understanding a problem with clarity is halfway towards solving it.” – Amartya Sen
“To say that the whole of the industrial experience of Europe and America shows the rewards of exploiting the Third World is a gross simplification.”
“No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.” – Amartya Sen
“Resenting the obtuseness of others is not good ground for shooting oneself in the foot.” – Amartya Sen
“Development requires addressing various sources of unfreedom, including poverty, tyranny, and neglect of public facilities.” – Amartya Sen
“While I am interested in both economics and philosophy, the union of my interests in the two fields far exceeds their intersection.” – Amartya Sen
“Silence is a powerful enemy of social justice.”
“Development consists of the removal of various types of unfreedoms that leave people with little choice and little opportunity.” – Amartya Sen
“The purely rational economic man is close to being a social moron.” – Amartya Sen
“Opponents of globalization may see it as a new folly, but it is neither particularly new, nor, in general, a folly.” – Amartya Sen
“Just consider how terrible the day of your death will be. Others will go on speaking, and you will not be able to argue back.” – Amartya Sen
“The exchange between different cultures cannot possibly be seen as a threat when it is friendly.” – Amartya Sen
“Ultimately, imperialism made even the British working classes suffer.”
“Ultimately, imperialism made even the British working classes suffer.” – Amartya Sen
“From the mid-1970s, I also started work on the causation and prevention of famines.” – Amartya Sen
“To say that certainly America was very lucky to get a large amount of land, and the native Indians were extremely unlucky.” – Amartya Sen
“While we cannot live without history, we need not live within it either.” – Amartya Sen
“Important as history is, reasoning has to go beyond the past.” – Amartya Sen
“The student community of Presidency College was also politically most active.” – Amartya Sen
“The case for doing what one sees as one’s duty must be strong, but how can we be indifferent to the consequences?”
“It was incredible to me that members of one community could kill members of another not for anything personal that they did.” – Amartya Sen
“I have not had any serious non-academic job.” – Amartya Sen
“I think the whole progress over the last two or three millennia has been entirely dependent on ideas and techniques.” – Amartya Sen
“So the much-criticized food subsidy and employment guarantee for the poor and the unemployed cost about 1.14 percent of GDP.” – Amartya Sen
“The Affluent Society not only changed the way the country viewed itself but gave new phrases to the language.”
“He wrote extensively on how schools should be made more attractive to boys and girls and thus more productive.” – Amartya Sen
“I was born in a University campus and seem to have lived all my life in one campus or another.” – Amartya Sen
“Nor let us be resentful when others differ from us. For all men have hearts, and each heart has its own leanings.” – Amartya Sen
“People’s identities as Indians, as Asians, or as members of the human race, seemed to give way to sectarian identification.”
“While the Nobel award came my way, it also allowed me to do something immediate and practical about my old obsessions.” – Amartya Sen
“The governments and the hard-headed military establishment and the general conservative part of America have never taken much interest in democracy.” – Amartya Sen
“From the mid-1970s, I also started work on the causation and prevention of famines.” – Amartya Sen
“Sometimes the lack of substantive freedoms relates directly to economic poverty.” – Amartya Sen
“I think the whole progress over the last two or three millennia has been entirely dependent on ideas and techniques.”
“To say that certainly America was very lucky to get a large amount of land, and the native Indians were extremely unlucky.” – Amartya Sen
“It is important to reclaim for humanity the ground that has been taken from it by various arbitrarily narrow formulations of the demands of rationality.” – Amartya Sen
“He wrote extensively on how schools should be made more attractive to boys and girls and thus more productive.” – Amartya Sen
“The Affluent Society not only changed the way the country viewed itself but gave new phrases to the language.”
“Just consider how terrible the day of your death will be. Others will go on speaking, and you will not be able to argue back.” – Amartya Sen
Conclusion
Reflecting on these quotes from Amartya Sen, it’s evident that his perspectives touch on various aspects of society, ranging from globalization and imperialism to identity, education, and social justice.
Amartya Sen’s insights challenge conventional wisdom and advocate for a broader understanding of history, reasoning, and human freedom. He emphasizes the importance of inclusivity, dialogue between cultures, and the pursuit of justice and equality.
Overall, Amartya Sen’s quotes inspire critical thinking and reflection on the complexities of the world we live in, urging us to strive for a more equitable and compassionate society.