50 People Who Matter 2010 | 43. Amartya Sen

Conscience teacher.

By New Statesman Published 27 September 2010

Amartya Sen is one of the world's most influential intellectuals.

The Nobel Prize-winning Indian economist is also a philosopher, concerned with problems moral as well as material. His notion of measuring human development has become central to the work of the United Nations and the World Bank.

The impact of his thinking on inequalities of "capability" as well as inequalities of income and wealth can be seen in everyone from the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to politicians in Britain. Although Sen denies that he is "the Mother Teresa of economics", few have done more to further the cause of economic and social justice.

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3 comments

Tue, 2010-11-23 20:58 — Dr Ramdas Pananthattil (not verified)

Amartya Sen has no parallel in exhilarating intellectual input into welfare economics. It is with valid reason that people call him Mother Teresa of economics. We can alternatively call him the Budha, the Christ, the Mahatma Gandhi, the Aadi Shankaracharya [proponent of advaita philosophy] or the Albert Einstein of welfare economics.
Dr Ramdas Pananthattil, UK

Tue, 2010-10-05 07:14 — Greg Dyke (not verified)

Why be a poor teacher when you can make a nice little earner from the free money, western tax payers gave him for his now multi million bank. His hotel costs would feed a village for ever. Still we must fabricate positive role models for the UN. One world crowd must we not?.

Mon, 2010-10-11 20:47 — RK (not verified)

This is the man, I would say, why I am not a socialist.

Grew up in Bengal, which implemented his programs.....to ruins, while rest of India progressed. This is man, like Arundhati now or countless religious leaders who sacrifice ordinary people in name of religion or in this case naxalism....to keep their flags flying. His flags are flying. He got Noble. Got Millions. Got to marry into the most elite family of Europe.

His homelands is in ruins. Because they did what he recommended. Offcourse he will not own upto it.

Modern intellengcia is very poorly served by such sham.