Solutions for freedom as they exist in the West can be tried in the developing countries as well, and, while cultural adjustments indeed may be required, adjustment is something else than withholding.
Sen’s analysis will provoke much discussion. Researchers, like Barro, will be challenged to reconsider the issue. The policy makers at the World’s capitals will be challenged as well. Certainly the ‘cultures’ argument will be a strong subject for contention. The prime thing to hope, however, is that the academic tendency to research, research and research will not be abused by the politicians to bury the Sen argument - and we can only hope that the scientists are aware of their responsibility in this.
On the cover of the book, Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General, already states gratefully that the UN “has benefited immensely from the wisdom and good sense of Professor Sen’s views”. This is wonderful recognition. But we can clearly see that this is only a beginning of a longer change. As a question, that I perhaps may raise myself, I wonder whether it would not be time to take the World Bank from its current track on traditional ‘income economics’, in which it has become so set in its ways, and change it to monitoring the freedoms. On second thought, it would be a pity to throw this current expertise away, since income still is something useful to have - if I may put it that way. Would it not be much better to create a new ‘Liberty Board’, or whatever name, for the administration, help, guidance and inspection on such freedoms ? In fact, as Sen clarifies, the freedoms can arise in all dimensions of human life, and can have surprising interconnections. Logically, one would have to monitor freedoms in all such dimensions - as, in fact, governments in Western nations have all kinds of Ministries and Agencies. Logically, again, the UN might as well mirror that kind of organisation. “Rest assured,” I once remarked to Jan Tinbergen, “that world government will come about surely, one day.” - and I got a smile as a response. It would be good if this logic could be echoed in the advice of our fellow economists to the larger public.
I enjoyed a certain perspective on Adam Smith. First the Smith quote:
“Whenever the legislature attemps to regulate the differences between masters and their workforce, its counsellors are always the masters. When the regulation, therefor, is in favour of the workmen, it is always just and equitable; but it is sometimes otherwise when in favour of the masters.” (Sen:323).
The perspective is that Smith’s aversity against government meddling derives to some, and perhaps a large, extent from such imbalance of power. Conservative political views of Smith emphasis the first, no government meddling, but forget the precondition. In a democracy, Smith would well have come to a more positive approach to government influence - no doubt still critical, but less averse to meddling in principle.
A point of critique. Sen compares the population control in China, based on restrictive laws, with that in Kerala, India, based on emancipation of women and on influencing convictions under basic freedom of decision. He finds both equally effective. The Kerala approach then clearly is preferable - while, Sen critically notes, the Chinese one may also result into problems when there is a political crisis and people no longer believe the authorities. He uses this to show that freedom is both a target and a means. My problem with this comparison is that Sen, while surprisingly subtle in many points, may not be subtle enough. There are many differences between Kerala and China, and not just the difference between these policies. As once found for Italian districts: their kind of democratic attitude and level of economic development were found correlating with their kind of government in the 15th century city states. Nature’s way are quite complex and surprising. Yes, this is precisely the ‘cultures’ argument, the major bone of contention.
My point therefor is that Sen’s argument is convincing at a logical level - which means that we thus must reorganise Development towards the Freedom paradigm - but that for each separate issue it is up to the specialists to determine their findings. I don’t have to decide about birth control methods, but I can agree that freedom is an important variable that needs to be taken into account, as means and objective, and it is useful that there is an agency that helps the Chinese government to see how they can improve their policies. With lots of diplomacy, good dinners and the big stick of public opinion.
Sen’s analysis nicely fits my own analysis: that basic economic necessities have been neglected by our governments, and that economics itself has played a bad part in this. I have concentrated on Western unemployment and poverty, referring to lack of freedom from the perspective of Montesquieu, and referring to Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. Sen considers development or the whole economic problem relating to The Good Life. Strangely he does not refer to Roosevelt. But our arguments supplement and strengthen each other. Also, one of the implications of my analysis is that when all governments start having Economic Supreme Courts, then these will exchange information, and this will create a network of international co-ordination, which is another part of the solution to the ‘world government’ problem.
Sen rightly comments that Europe only gives money to the unemployed, but takes away their freedom and right to a normal life with professional and social recognition. A point of critique is that he does not seem to understand the cause for European unemployment. My hope is that he gets to read my book and will agree with my analysis.