“No man is free who is not master of himself.”
Epictetus

The first chapter of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen (have you bought your copy?) explores the relationship between freedom and development. In the chapter, the author highlights the dichotomy between the concentration on economic wealth and a “broader” focus on the lives we can lead as different views of development. During my university career, I studied a lot of economics. I do mean a lot. At one point I considered economics as a vocation, at the time my math was not good enough and I was not a good enough student to understand that I could have remedied that issue. The brand of economics I studied would have put me into the “wealth as development” camp. Winding the calendar forward a few days (or decades) as I read this book, specifically in light of studying Stoicism, I find myself on the other end of the spectrum. 

One of the points that struck me in this chapter was the question, “If we have reasons to want more wealth, we have to ask: What precisely are these reasons, how do they work, on what are they contingent and what are the things we can “do” with more wealth?” Aristotle stated that one had to consider wealth maximization a question of either being “merely useful and for the sake of something else.” If we stop to consider organizational transformation (relax I will link the concept back to freedoms at some point) using similar questions how have we considered the reasons for transformation, what is the change contingent upon, and what things we can do with this transformed organization? What new freedoms does the organization have if it transforms? 

Is development the outcome or is the expansion of freedoms?  Which is the tool and which is the outcome? Is one “the path” and the other “the evidence” and neither “the outcome”?  Using the Stoic interpretation of Eudaimonia as a filter provides a path to identifying path and output.  Eudaimonia is a happy life requiring the practice of the four cardinal virtues which require freedom. Using that purview, freedoms shape character and represent the path to a better character. The author argues that freedom ”involves both the processes that allow freedom of actions and decisions, and the actual opportunities that people have, given their personal and social circumstances.” This could be construed as a definition of character. Development is the measure of outcome rather than the outcome itself. There are a wide variety of ways to measure development that highlight different aspects and are based on a range of definitions. As we will see in later chapters how you define the outcome is intertwined with which behaviors (and aspects of character) are promoted and the approach to measuring development (what gets measured and what gets ignored).

The argument over the definition of development is not esoteric but has substantial policy implications. I would have once considered myself a libertarian. My feeling now that anything that interferes with liberty in the broadest sense should be suppressed regardless of implication or impact is at best churlish. It also takes a myopic view based on a single freedom, liberty. A broader view (less libertarian) is better both at a macro (national or world) and a micro view (organization and team). Sen states, ”Having greater freedom to do the things one has reason to value is (1) significant in itself for the person’s overall freedom, and (2) important in fostering the person’s opportunity to have valuable outcomes.”

Another interesting idea is the distinction between “culmination outcomes” (a focus on terminal outcomes, only) and “comprehensive outcomes” (a focus on the processes as well as terminal outcomes). Freedoms affect people and outcomes which enhance the ability to help themselves and are critical to the process of development. Sen states, ”Development is not the outcome we reach for but rather the enhancement of life we lead the freedoms we enjoy.” 

Next Chapter Two: The Ends And The Means Of Development

Previous installments of Development as Freedom by Amartya Sen:

Week 1: Context and Logistics

Week 2: Introduction and Preface