Commodities and Capabilities

by Amartya Sen

Commodities and Capabilities presents a set of inter-related theses concerning the foundations of welfare economics, and in particular about the assessment of personal well-being and advantage. The argument presented focuses on the capability to function, i.e. what a person can do or can be, questioning in the process the more standard emphasis on opulence or on utility. In fact, a person's motivation behind choice is treated here as a parametric variable which may or may not coincide with the pursuit of self-interest. Given the large number of practical problems arising from the roles and limitations of different concepts of interest and the judgement of advantage and well-being, this scholarly investigation is both of theoretical interest and practical import.

Genres: Economics, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Social Justice

102 pages, Paperback

Published September 9, 1999

About the author

Amartya Kumar Sen is an Indian economist who was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, and for his interest in the problems of society’s poorest members.

Sen was best known for his work on the causes of famine, which led to the development of practical solutions for preventing or limiting the effects of real or perceived shortages of food. He is currently the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is also a senior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, where he previously served as Master from the years 1998 to 2004. He is the first Asian and the first Indian academic to head an Oxbridge college.

Amartya Sen's books have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is a trustee of Economists for Peace and Security. In 2006, Time magazine listed him under "60 years of Asian Heroes" and in 2010 included him in their "100 most influential persons in the world".

Reviews

[Zaya Bold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Энгийн санаанууд боловч бичсэн хэв маягаас нь болоод ч юмуу, эсвэл би мат сэтгэлгээндээ муугаас ч юмуу ойлгоход бага зэрэг хүндрэлтэй байлааааа

[Andi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sen provides the evaluation of well-being in the conception of Capability Approach as the critiques of traditional welfare economics.

Commodity→ Capability→ Functioning → Utility

"...wealth is evidently not the good we are seeking; for it is merely useful and for the sake of something else".

Further readings of Sen's capability approach can be found and clarified greatly and insightful in his shortly later book called "Development as Freedom".

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presents a comprehensive exploration of the capabilities approach, offering a theoretical framework that goes beyond traditional economic measures by focusing on individuals' freedoms and capabilities.

The book lays out Sen's argument that human well-being should not be solely measured by material possessions or income but should encompass individuals' abilities to achieve valuable functionings and lead lives they have reason to value. Sen's capability approach emphasizes the importance of expanding people's capabilities and freedoms, enabling them to live lives they have reason to value.

While Sen's capability approach addresses the limitations of relying solely on income-based measures of well-being, it does not challenge the underlying reason for the unequal distribution of resources, and the role of capitalist systems in perpetuating these inequalities.

The capability approach, while acknowledging the importance of individual freedoms, does not address the systemic issues of exploitation, alienation, and class struggle inherent in capitalist economies. Sen's focus is on somehow expanding capabilities within the existing economic structures, suggesting that it falls short in addressing the root causes of socio-economic inequalities.

[Leonardo]

Citado en los artículos de Comim, de Pugno y de Angner en Capabilities and Happiness.