Amartya Sen

Amartya Sen is one of the world-s best-known voices for the poor, the destitute and the downtrodden and an inspiration for policy makers and activists across the globe. He has also contributed almost without peer to the study of economics, philosophy and politics, transforming social choice theory, development economics, ethics, political philosophy and Indian political economy, to list but a few.

This book offers a much-needed introduction to Amartya Sen-s extraordinary variety of ideas. Lawrence Hamilton provides an excellent, accessible guide to the full range of Sen-s writings, contextualizing his ideas and summarizing the associated debates. In elegant prose, Hamilton reconstructs Sen-s critiques of the major philosophies of his time, assesses his now famous concern for capabilities as an alternative for thinking about poverty, inequality, gender discrimination, development, democracy and justice, and unearths some overlooked gems. Throughout, these major theoretical and