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Sun, 02/26/2012 - 10:36pm

Development as Freedom (YP Discussion Group)

7pm Wed, 2/29

Madison's Grill (1109 SE Madison)

In preparation for Amartya Sen's lecture as part of the WAC's International Speaker Series (3/11), we're talking about the role of economic development as part of the broader drive for freedom and self determination.  Sen is a Nobel Prize-winning economist best known for his book Development as Freedom.  Is economic development a worthwhile goal in the absence of democratization and greater respect for human rights?  When we talk about development, what factors should we include in the conversation?  How should we judge the success of development drives?

Comments

Submitted by Jenny Linnéa (not verified) on Sun, 02/26/2012 - 11:35pm.

"Is economic development a worthwhile goal in the absence of democratization and greater respect for human rights?"

Immediately, I find the notion of economic development as an objective absent from ideas of democratization and human rights to be particularly interesting. Partly because what often occurs is that economic development is driven by subsidies of governments and organizations that impose ethics and ideals derivative of Western ideologies. (i.e. such as the situation in Jamaica). Within the terms of a contract it is held that the borrower must provide public education, standards of living, and infrastructure that is not only developed in liberal cultures, but it also foreign to what many cultures identify to be their existing norm. In this light, the two - or three are inherently linked.

Secondly, with placing an economy as a central concern, there is a shift in focus from ethical topics of freedom and human rights to the market. This idea presents the opportunity for the economy to develop its own sense of morality, which may position countries such as China is a positive light, but would also redefine what a society's purpose is. What a country sees as good may be that which benefits their financial interest the greatest. This method defines rationality. A society may find new definitions of good and evil, but I express the utmost apprehension with market defined ethics.

Submitted by Jim Sisson (not verified) on Mon, 02/27/2012 - 7:46pm.

Before a nation that is not free can hope to free, it must first achieve Justice. As Mortimer Adler says in his "Six Great Ideas", Justice in the linchpin for freedom and equality. Paraphrasing--a nation must have as much freedom as justice allows and as much equality as justice demands.

A just society then is first of all a society with Just Law--Laws that everyone, including the highest levels of government must obey. Just law then requires an independent and trustworthy Judiciary.

Once justice is institutionalized, government--through mercantilism, will begin to build its industries--at first focussed on export markets.

Once a certain level of economic growth is achieved (and businesses "trust" that government will not step in and take over their enterprises) a domestic market is developed. Slowly but surely, the nation will develop a middle class. And that middle class, as it grows, will increasingly demand more say in the affairs of government. Here we see the genesis of democracy and ultimately freedom..........