Good economics from India
From Angus Sibley at www.equilibrium-economicum.net.
Sibley provides a brief summation of why Amartya Sen rejects market fundamentalism in favor of his Capabilities Approach. Market fundamentalism might be good if all we wanted to do is maximize total wealth. Instead, he proposes maximizing human wellbeing, a radically different goal that takes into account positive freedoms.
The Capabilities Approach can in some ways be viewed a an extended reformulation of modern liberalism, and it is perhaps the most important political/philosophical development of the 20th century. Martha Nussbaum has a new book out describing it, Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach. Capabilities is a good way to make sure that everybody benefits from society. The book is not the best read you'll encounter, but the ideas are great.
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18 comments:
I've only come across Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum in the last few years, but I'm becoming more and more fascinated by their ideas. Having the goal of society (politics, economics, etc.) being to maximize people's ability to live as they wish, to do more, makes much more sense to me than just accumulation. Especially when competition for resources and outright greed almost always cause some few to accumulate most and the rest to get little-to-none.
Thanks for the link!
Mongolia and Congo have higher GDP per capita than India, maybe we can learn something from their economists too?
Thanks, Mike, that was an interesting read.
Joanna,
We can learn something from any economist, as long as what they have to say is well researched and well supported.
oh wait... you are a libertarian douche trolling another post.
Why do Libertarians feel the need to add so much pointless spam on the internet.
Dear sir, As a matter of fact your blog & the views that you've expressed have refreshed my views on the subject of discussion but am not able to 'follow' your blog as the Widget is absent here. Please spare a few moments to add it so as to let others be voraciously in touch with your writings. Enjoy.
To Joanna Liberation:
Friend, Mongolia & Congo have a way lesser population than India. As far as comparison of these territories with a growing Economic might like India is concerned, you seriously need to revisit your Macro economics lessons! Enjoy.
rath_baria, an Indian worker is not better off just because you classify his poor ass together with billion other poor Indian worker asses in one "nation" or "society" abstract group. You may root for national reproductive pride, but I prefer to root for higher standard of living of the working class.
Joanna Liberation said...
rath_baria, an Indian worker is not better off just because you classify his poor ass together with billion other poor Indian worker asses in one "nation" or "society" abstract group. You may root for national reproductive pride, but I prefer to root for higher standard of living of the working class.
_____
That higher standard of living for the working class comes from organizing into unions -- not from giving mega-tax breaks to the wealthy with which to defeat candidates who are not all about your enemy:
greed and wealth.
I don't doubt you believe the illiterate's gibberish you spout. I also don't doubt your obvious rejection of learning as the cure for your belief in afactual nonsense.
And, no: your making up of blatantly stupid crap is not legitimate creativity, as creativity is a generosity against which you rail.
To Joan Liberation- Apology for being late. I didn't get any mail about a comment on the blog, so didn't know about your rebuttal. Am putting you arguments first & then my re-rebuttal:
YOU: rath_baria, an Indian worker is not better off just because you classify his poor ass together with billion other poor Indian worker asses in one "nation" or "society" abstract group. You may root for national reproductive pride, but I prefer to root for higher standard of living of the working class.
ME: Typical sub-standard stuff I hear from most of the ignorant souls. You assert about Higher standard of living. Do you even understand what Higher Standard of Living means? Leave it aside. Do you even know how & when to compare 3 Nations consisting of far differing variables that affect them? Leave it too! Do you even know anyhting about India except your halo-learning!
One society, One nation. Yes, I classify his poor ass with other billions just as I would classify your ass with the other many asses of the nation you belong too. Or let me assume, you're in a boundary-less 'fantasy', reducing yourself to an individual. If so, there's no point to argue here. We both have different viewpoints then. Still, when you wake up from thy dream, thou shall let me know, we'll argue! And yes, am an ardent Nationalist, Collectivist(now please don't assume am not an Individualist, we all are).
I have not asserted anything about India's standard of living. But you have. By making 'per capital GDP' as a yardstick, which I must oppose. Per-cap GDP is NOT a measure of Standard of Living, even a student of Macro would know that! Standard of Living consists of many Qualitative variables such as Health, Education, Water supplies, per-cap Energy consumption, per-cap food consumption, food availability, HDI, HPI, GER, etc. India fares far better than Mongolia & Congo. Higher GDP/capita doesn't mean Higher standard of living. Labour Force is tremendously improving here in India, Entrepreneurs are thriving at Bottom of the Pyramid, don't believe? Read Bottom of the Pyramid by Prahlad. Health sector has seen Private sector's involvement at huge scale. Costs are coming down. India's a hub of Medical Tourism(Macroeconomics). We have a booming Middle class which every major Foreign corporation wants to grab. We have Consumption boom, We have Infrastructure penetrating rapidly in NER, NW, even in the Central mainland.
Congo, Mongolia. They are improving, but far from being compared with India. Such comparisons lead to incorrect results as we'll see in brief.
(continued in the next post)
Lastly,
YOU: "Abstract groups" like Society, Nation.
ME: What abstract? Such collectives haven't jumped from heaven or hell. They've "Evolved". I do not bother about other nations, but as far as India is concerned, we are a nation because of a long, persistently laborious, repressive & a hard-earned History. India, as such was never thought of as a nation. Its cultural, Social, Geographical & Political diversity was so complex that the Colonial rulers proclaimed that India can never be a single nation. Alas! They've been proven wrong & shall always be.
We(Indians) are a nation because Generations & Generation have gone through this process. Sheer repression of Aristocrat Kings, Emperors & then the Colonial ruler led to a Union of Diversity being formed, slowly & gradually. Even today, India is, by many, called a 'group of many nations'.
These are the facts one needs to know about India, before discussing upon it. As such you have the rights to discuss on anything, but such uneducated arguments as you've made in the reply, would lead to a blurred dialogue.
Read "Modern India" by Bipan Chandra, Read "Freedom at Midnight" by Dominique and Larry, Read "Ancient India": New Research by Upinder Singh, Read "Medieval India" by Savarkar. You'll find most of these on Amazon. Read these. Then make you brazen, false arguments about abstract grouping.
JNagarya : It seems I've misunderstood your arguments as Joanna's. I've rebutted them assuming Joanna wrote it. I assume they were a rebuttal by you to Joanna. If so, Kindly ignore my replies to your points which I assumed am putting against her.
Regards.
JNagarya : I've deleted my comments I had made against your views assuming they were by Joanna.
Regards.
To Joanna:
Some facts [Just a glimpse]: > Mongolia's GDP(PPP) = $11.018 billion, Congo's GDP(PPP) = $23.117 billion, India's GDP = $1843 billion, > Mongolia's Population: approx. 2.8 million, Congo's Population: approx. 70 million, India's LABOUR FORCE: approx. 450 million! GDP/capita comparision is futile here, India's total Labour Force = apporx. 6.2 times bigger than Mongolia's & Congo's TOTAL POPULATION. Don't you see the differences between the variables. Comparing them on your Per-cap GDP yardstick is only to blur the real image. ( NOTE : All the data is based on World Bank database)
Congo's population resides in extreme poverty, Mongolia has been under the evil of poverty since 1990. Transition to Market Economy(or I love to assert 'system') is an important reason here. Livestock dependence has been shrinking badly in mongolia.
Now if you're rejecting or unaware of these facts, I'll thus repeat, Brush up your Macro. About India, please come to India once. Experience, Observe & then form viewpoints.
Read the books I've mentioned in my previous posts . Add to them "The Argumentative Indian" by Amartya Sen.
To learn Macrorconomics read "Macroeconomics" by Krugman. Even Mankiw would do. Then read "India Human Development Report 2011: Towards Social Inclusion" by Planning Commission.
Now if you've already filled your mind with infested ideas(as there are many so-asserted "school of thoughts" in Economics), I find it futile you'll ever learn the truth.
Regards.
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