The connection between mortality and income is not as clear-cut as it seems. The presence of massive unemployment in Europe, for example, is not well reflected in income distribution statistics because it is treated as a deficiency of income that can be made up through transfers by the state.
The shift in perspective is important when analyzing poverty in developed and developing countries. The approach used in this book is different from more traditional economic policy analysis, such as the economic concentration on the primacy of income and wealth rather than on the characteristics of human lives and substantive freedoms, the utilitarian focus on mental satisfaction rather than on creative discontent and constructive dissatisfaction, and the libertarian preoccupation with procedures for liberty without regard for their consequences. Freedom is not only the basis of the evaluation of success and failure, but it is also a principal determinant of individual initiative and social effectiveness. The importance of individual freedom is critical in the concept of development. Unfreedom can arise through inadequate processes or inadequate opportunities. The view of freedom that is being taken here involves both the processes that allow freedom of actions and decisions, and the actual opportunities that people have, given their personal and social circumstances. Political liberty and civil freedoms are also important on their own, and do not have to be justified indirectly in terms of their effects on the economy. For example, many people in third world countries lack basic opportunities of health care, or functional education, or gainful employment, or economic and social security.Įconomic development has many dimensions, including economic security. There are many ways in which people are deprived of their freedom.
Development must be more concerned with enhancing the lives we lead and the freedoms we enjoy. But this relation is not exclusive or uniform, since the impact of wealth on our lives varies with other influences. The usefulness of wealth is in the things it allows us to do. The issue is not the ability to live forever on which Maitreyee concentrated, but the capability to live a good life while you are alive. There is a connection between opulence and achievements, but the link may or may not be strong and depend on many other circumstances.
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