Erin Liebe Professor Tyler Frazier Evolving Solutions- DATA 150 2 September 2020
Introduction to “Development as Freedom” Questions
Western world vs. Third World preconceived ideas about global development and health:
Hans Rosling proposed that society has an oversimplified perspective of third world countries. He believes that we often collapse entire regions and even continents into having all of the same struggles and being equally underdeveloped in different aspects, rather than recognizing their distinctions. People often assume that the western world is superior in all areas, rather than considering that even third world countries can have their strong suits. For example, we might immediately assume that life expectancy in the United States is higher than any African country, whereas in reality, Algeria’s life expectancy is almost equal to that of the United States.
Which comes first? Wealth or health? Are these important to development because of the money?
They are both important to development for multiple reasons. Healthy and financially stable citizens can prioritize contributing to the economy, boosting their general wellbeing, and improving happiness if they do not have to focus on mere survival. However, statistics show that being healthy first can drive wealth up, whereas being wealthy first does not ensure that health will improve.
What is development according to A.S.? Is this an expansive or narrow mindset relative to other definitions of development?
Development is the “process of expanding the real freedom that people enjoy.” This is an expansive definition of development, because the more common definitions, such as growth of GNP, increase of personal incomes, or industrialization are means to expanding freedom but not expansions of freedom themselves. These “contribute” to expanding freedom and it is essential to recognize that they are not the end goals or qualifications of development.
Sources of unfreedoms that development requires to be removed? Why is free and sustainable agency a major help to development?
Development according to the common and more shallow understanding cannot lead to true development or individual freedom without first removing the unfreedoms that exist in society. For example, poverty, neglect of health, and denial of political participation and hindrances to development. It allows us to measure progress of the populations general well-being rather than simply an increase of income or similarly obvious advancements. It also is effective because development relies on the people being free in the first place.
Comparison of markets and freedom of speech?
The author says that being able to participate in markets is as basic a liberty as communication. They also both contribute to societal and individual development. In the same way that we would struggle if we were not able to communicate, third world countries struggle to develop in part due to not allowing everyone to participate in open labor markets and open product markets.