The Development Ethics of Amartya Sen: A Critical Study

ABSTRACT

Development aims at promoting human life and upgrading the quality of life of humankind. In the age of modernization and globalization development has played an important role in raising the standards of living of many people. However, in spite of the advances in technology and its positive impact on our way of life, we are still living in the world where abject poverty, social injustice and dehumanization abound. We have to face many new problems such as the greenhouse effect as a result of global warming, environmental degradation, dwindling natural resources, human exploitation, corruption, child labor, human slave trade, violence and drug trafficking- while the old ones are still with us, namely the perennial problem of poverty, unfulfilled basic human needs, famine and widespread hunger, etc. The result of these problems can be seen in every corner of the world. What is the purpose of development if it does not make our life better, happier, and the world a better place in which to live? To address these problems, this research will focus on clearly defining the roles and the tasks of development by depending on the development ethics theories and the work of Amartya Sen on development. The purpose of doing this is to study critically the ethical principles of development according to Amartya Sen. The researcher hopes that the outcome of this study will serve as a constructive response to the imbalance of the double-edged world development process going on at the present time.