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Amartya Sen Quotes

Economist

Amartya Sen is an Indian economist renowned for his contributions to welfare economics, development economics, and ethics. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979 and is considered one of the most outstanding economists of the 20th century.

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All World People Thinking Humans Ifs Way Country Kind Economic Poverty School Opportunity Has Beens Identity India Social Famine Literacy Needs Children

Famous Amartya Sen Quotes

“Human life depends not only on income but also on social opportunities, [for example] what the state does for educating.”

Humans Doe States Opportunity Social Example Depends Income Human Life

Author:Amartya Sen

“Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects that interest me and there freedom of speech comes into it.”

Humans Able Certain Interest Community Subjects Speech Human Life Freedom Of Speech

Author:Amartya Sen

“We need to ask the moral questions: Do I have a right to be rich? And do I have a right to be content living in a world with so much poverty and inequality? These questions motivate us to view the issue of inequality as central to human living.”

World Needs Humans Asks Views Moral Poverty Issues Rich Inequality

Author:Amartya Sen

“Being able to read, write, do your sums really transforms a human being.”

Writing Humans Able Human Beings

Author:Amartya Sen

“I think gender inequality is a problem that goes back a long, long time. In human society, as a whole, women have tended to have a kind of inferior position - very often combined with playing up women as great role [models].”

Thinking Humans Kind Long Whole Problem Roles Position Long Time Models Gender Inequality Role Models Inferiors Human Society Gender Inequality Great Role Models Playing Up

Author:Amartya Sen

“Education makes us the human beings we are. It has major impacts on economic development, on social equity, gender equity. In all kinds of ways, our lives are transformed by education and security. Even if it had not one iota of effect [on] security, it would still remain in my judgment the biggest priority in the world.”

Ifs World Way Humans Kind Stills Social Human Beings Our Lives Economic Effects Security Development Judgment Majors Impact Gender Priorities All Kinds Transformed Equity Economic Development

Author:Amartya Sen

“The fact that schools can actually be a major factor in cementing the world is a factor that's worth considering, the fact that we all have a shared human identity in addition to many other identities.”

World Humans Facts School Identity Majors Factors Considering

Author:Amartya Sen

“Education can really transform the insecurities in the world into a bigger vision of what we are as human beings.”

World Humans Human Beings Vision Bigger Insecurity

Author:Amartya Sen

“Education makes human beings more articulate. It transforms people. You can think differently about the world. It makes it possible for you to get jobs. It makes a dramatic difference. It generates a social equity that we need.”

People Thinking World Needs Humans Jobs Social Differences Human Beings Dramatic Equity

Author:Amartya Sen

“Each human being is a citizen of the world. We have many identities, of which one of the identities is our human identity. And that's something that the schools can provide, but that requires again a vision rather than being centers of hatred. It could be an enormous opportunity to give that mission.”

World Giving Humans School Opportunity Human Beings Vision Identity Citizens Hatred Missions Enormous

Author:Amartya Sen

“I really do believe that education, despite this massive potential in transforming human lives, has not received the kind of attention that people should have given to it.”

People Should Believe Humans Kind Given Attention Should Have Despite Human Life Massive Transforming

Author:Amartya Sen

“People's identities as Indians, as Asians, or as members of the human race, seemed to give way - quite suddenly - to sectarian identification with Hindu, Muslim, or Sikh communities.”

People Way Giving Humans Community Race Identity Members Indian Human Race Hinduism Identification

Book:Reason Before Identity: The Romanes Lecture for 1998

Source: Reason Before Identity: The Romanes Lecture for 1998

“Economics, as it has emerged, can be made more productive by paying greater and more explicit attention to the ethical considerations that shape human behaviour and judgment.”

Humans Made Challenges Attention Greater Inspire Shapes Judgment Economics Productive Consideration Ethical Behaviour Provoking Explicit Human Behaviour

Author:Amartya Sen

“The notion of human right builds on our shared humanity. These rights are not derived from the citizenship of any country, or the membership of any nation, but are presumed to be claims or entitlements of every human being. They differ, therefore, from constitutionally created rights guaranteed for specific people.”

People Humans Country Humanity Nations Human Beings Rights Claims Notion Citizenship Entitlement Membership Shared Humanity

Book:The Idea of Justice

Source: The Idea of Justice

“Poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one's full potential as a human being”

Humans Realizing Human Beings Poverty Capability Full Potential

Author:Amartya Sen

“Economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable - and unethical.”

Humans Growth Economic Development Investment Economic Growth Human Development Unethical

Author:Amartya Sen

“Human development, as an approach, is concerned with what I take to be the basic development idea: namely, advancing the richness of human life, rather than the richness of the economy in which human beings live, which is only a part of it.”

Humans Ideas Human Beings Economy Development Approach Concerned Human Life Richness Advancing Human Development

Author:Amartya Sen

“Human ordeals thrive on ignorance. To understand a problem with clarity is already half way towards solving it.”

Way Humans Problem Half Ignorance Clarity Thrive Ordeals Half Way

Author:Amartya Sen

About the Author

Born: November 3, 1933
Known for: Economist
Quotes: 154

Books & Sources

Development as FreedomRelated source material

The Idea of JusticeRelated source material

The Argumentative Indian: Writings on Indian History, Culture and IdentityRelated source material

Choice, Welfare and MeasurementRelated source material

Identity and Violence: The Illusion of DestinyRelated source material

Indian Development: Selected Regional PerspectivesRelated source material

Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and DeprivationRelated source material

Rationality and FreedomRelated source material

Reason Before Identity: The Romanes Lecture for 1998Related source material

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