1.What is development?
Development expands our freedom in many different ways, including economy and opportunity. Development is not to be richer, but to have more freedom. Freedom in different forms and views, the definition of freedom is different, there is no unified definition. For example, with the development of transportation, freedom of travel. The development of transportation makes it easier to go to a place, while the early development makes it more difficult to go fom point a to point B.
2.Is this an expansive or narrow view of development?
I think this is a broad outlook on development. Instead of focusing on economic factors such as money, the book links development with more liberal factors. Development should be expanded so that people can benefit from the whole society, rather than focusing on the tools reflecting development, such as the growth of gross national product. For example, some countries with higher GNP may actually have shorter life expectancy than other poorer countries.
3.What are some of the sources of unfreedoms development requires being removed?
There are several kinds of non freedom mentioned by the author: the freedom to refuse to participate in the labor market, the freedom to enter the market, the freedom to exchange and trade, the economic non freedom that may even lead to death, and the social or political non freedom. In addition, the lack of basic education, clean water and food, and the opportunity to speak freely may also be some non freedom problems that should be eliminated in the process of development.
4.Why is free and sustainable agency a major engine of development?
The change of life style caused by development can’t be completed by one person. No one can easily adapt to this new life style. It takes time to adapt to these developments, and sustainable development does just that. We may find it easy to fill in our own documents online, because we grew up in the computer age. Try to tell the older generation that this place no longer accepts paper forms, and they don’t know what to do. That’s what these organizations are doing, and they’re becoming the third person between physical and digital work. Agency is the guide of people’s development. One needs time to adapt to this kind of development. Even if there is time, not everyone can get used to it.
5.What does Amartya Sen say about being generically against markets?
Amartya believes that there is no reason to generally oppose the market. Freedom of exchange is the same as freedom of dialogue. He believes that the freedom to enter the market has made a great contribution to the economy, and all the restrictions that hinder people’s access to the market should be removed. The lack of freedom of traction and other market behaviors is one of the root causes of the lack of freedom, which means that people are prevented from doing what they want to do without a legitimate reason. The market is one of the main forces driving economic growth and personal wealth. Therefore, general opposition to the market may have a negative impact, which will “inhibit the expansion of substantial freedom through the market system.”
6.What was the story of Kader Mia? What was the penalty of his economic unfreedom?
Kader Mia worked in a community and got hurt. Although his wife told him to stay away from the dangerous neighborhood, he decided to leave. He took the risk because he needed the money and the job. His low income didn’t give him the freedom to choose his place of work, and he was willing to do anything that would pay him. He needs the money, and so does his family. He was stabbed to death by a mob for entering a hostile area. The turbulent society and depressed economic situation make the local people live in misery. Although his wife warned him to guard against the adverse social situation, he had to take the risk in order to support his family. However, due to poor health conditions, he died in the hospital. Therefore, in his case, the penalty for his lack of economic freedom is death penalty.
7.Who were Condorcet and Malthus? What were their primary arguments regarding development and fertility?
Condorcet is a French rationalist. He believes that the fertility rate will decrease with the progress of rationality, including greater security, more education and more freedom of decision-making. The contemporary people of Malthus and Condorcet have different views on this issue. Malthus believes that “there is no reason to think that anything should make more people marry prematurely, or make them unable to raise the largest family healthily, except for the difficulty of getting enough necessities.”