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Journalism of Courage
Even as the country basks in the glow of having an Indian walk away with the first Nobel Prize for Economics to go to an Asian, it would do well to listen carefully to what he has to say. In an interview to All India Radio given shortly before he left for Oslo to receive his award, Amartya Sen shared his thoughts on India8217;s developmental trajectory and the choices before the nation. Clearly, it is an issue close to his heart, and to which he has devoted considerable time and attention. His observations were the familiar amalgam of welfarism and common sense that has always been the hallmark of his work. The ideals he espouses have never existed in a vacuum.
They are constantly put to the reality test, they are constantly being evaluated vis-a-vis the actual lives of ordinary people. This is precisely what makes his work so relevant to the times. Sen begins with the premise that globalisation is an irreversible process and that there is no way any economy in the world can escape its all-encompassing embrace. As time passes, the world8217;s economy is getting more and more integrated. But is there a way to cope with the phenomenon? Sen seems to suggest that it would be far more useful for the people and administration to watch out for the problems arising out of globalisation and address them, rather than try and wage relentless battle with the process itself.
When he talks of 8220;people8221;, Sen keeps coming back to the poorest of the poor. It is only by providing a modicum of economic security to this vulnerable group can the country even hope to break free from the vicious cycle of poverty begetting more poverty. Economic growth does not by itself have the power to transform their lives. So while economic growth is vital for national prosperity, if that prosperity is to be sustained, most sections of the population must have the ability to earn a decent living. For the Finance Minister, he reserves his most categorical statement of the interview. When asked what he would like to tell Yashwant Sinha, Amartya Sen stated categorically, 8220;I will ask him to get his objectives straight.8221; But is the Finance Minister listening?
