Inequality reexamined

This book brings together and develops some of the most important economic, social, and ethical ideas Sen has explored over the last two decades. It examines the claims of equality in social arrangements, stressing that we should be concerned with people's capabilities rather than either their resources or their welfare. Sen also looks at some types of inequality that have been less systematically studied than those of class or wealth.
The claims of equality in social arrangements constitute the subject matter of this original and incisive monograph: It deals with both methodological and substantive issues. Amartya Sen begins by identifying a common characteristic of virtually all the contemporary ethical approaches to social arrangements. They all demand (even the ones that are seen as 'anti-egalitarian') equality of something central to that particular theory. For example, libertarians demand equal rights no less strongly than income-egalitarians argue for equal incomes. To see the debates as 'pro' versus 'anti' equality is thus deeply misleading. The basic issue that divides the different approaches is not 'whether equality', but 'equality of what?'

The practical importance of the question 'equality of what?' turns on the pervasive diversity of human beings. Diversity of internal characteristics (such as age, gender, general abilities, particular talents, proneness to illnesses) as well as of external circumstances (such as ownership of assets, social backgrounds, environmental predicaments) makes equality in one sphere conflict substantially with equality in another. The often-repeated rhetoric of equality (such as 'all men are created equal') can deflect attention from diversities that are crucial in understanding the claims of equality.

Sen extensively explores one specific way of answering the question 'equality of what?' He concentrates on the capability of different persons to achieve valuable functionings, and more generally on the human freedom to pursue their respective objectives. This freedom-based approach, which illuminates Sen's analysis of inequality, is distinguished from utilitarianism, income-egalitarianism, welfare-egalitarianism, libertarianism, and the so-called 'equality of opportunities', and also from John Rawls's well-known theory of justice. By investigating inequalities related to such categories as class, gender, and communities, Sen demonstrates the far-reaching significance of these conceptual differences, and the force of the proposed approach. His analysis of poverty in rich countries (such as the USA) provides another illustration of the relevance and reach of these distinctions.

Amartya Sen also examines the demands of incentives and efficiency in the context of inequality assessment. He argues that the evaluation of equality cannot be dissociated from efficiency considerations, and discusses the circumstances in which the two concerns may or may not conflict. The book will be of interest to economists and other social scientists, and also to political theorists and moral and legal philosophers.