Question

principles of microeconomics

In a paragraph or two, explain in your own words what Amartya Sen meant by the process aspect and the opportunity aspect of freedom.

Answer 1

According to Amartya Sen, freedom means real opportunities to achieve valuable states of being and doing. According to Sen, a rich person is well off not because he has money but because due to money and an enabling environment, the person has more freedom to choose from a greater set of commodities and services which will give the person to become something useful or do something useful.

The “opportunity aspect of freedom” concerns the capability approach. According to him, the capability means the opportunity set to choose various valuable beings or doings. for example, let's say two persons with identical educational qualifications and health are there. One stays in North Korea/any underdeveloped country and the other one stays in the USA. In the USA, the person has more to choose from in terms of job opportunities but in North Korea, he may not have many choices possible to choose from. hence the person in the USA has more of freedom of opportunity  

"The process aspect of freedom" is concerned with how freely a decision can be made and how his choices will stay free from encroachment. For example, property right is different in different countries. In the USA your property right may not be taken away easily but in North Korea, your property may be seized if the government wants to do that. hence a decision to buy a house may stay in the USA but maybe disturbed in North Korea. Hence freedom in terms of process is also more in the USA compared to North Korea.

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