Inequality Reexamined.

One should not be deceived. Despite this book's being based on the Simon Kuznets Lectures at Yale University which were directed toward a general audience, it is not an easy read, and an extensive familiarity with the works (many of which are Sen's) listed in the 45 pages of references would make the task much less difficult. On the other hand, as Sen himself concedes, there is not much new here. As a leading theorist and authority in the area of social choice and welfare economics, he has elaborated many of the concepts and arguments seen here in other publications. For the reader familiar with this literature, Inequality Re-examined will pull many raveled ends together in a most lucid manner. Nine chapters and a long preface and introduction make for very stimulating reading.

Sen contends first that the central question that must be confronted is "equality of what"? He points out that there is no scarcity of proponents for a long list of equals: income, wealth, rights, opportunities, freedom, etc. He submits that even those advocates such as Robert Nozick and James Buchanan, who reject the appeal of egalitarianism are nevertheless egalitarian about some things or some "space". Even utilitarianism with its roots in classical doctrine, and perhaps the emotional home of most economists, can be made to fit the egalitarian mold for there is a requirement that human beings be treated equally in terms of the weights that are put on everyone's utility gains or losses, i.e., the utility gains of one person are not weighted differently from the utility gains of any other regardless of social station. Choosing equality in one space, however, clearly requires that inequality be accepted in other spaces, e.g., since people are so diverse in their personal characteristics, an insistence on equal rights must thereby accept inequality in such things as incomes, utilities, and other forms of well being. Similarly, requiring equal incomes will mean that people with quite different capabilities of utilizing income will have a varied pattern of well-being.

Beyond challenging conventional views of welfare economics, Sen spends the bulk of the book developing what he calls a more substantive approach to equality. In chapters on freedom, justice, poverty, class and gender, he plays down the importance of income and focuses on the freedom to achieve, an idea that goes beyond actual achievements. What is involved is the "capability to function", by which is meant that a person possesses opportunities to reach various "states of being" such as avoiding premature mortality, of being able to go about with dignity and respect, and of being able to take part in the life of the community. Equality of Income (or economic resources) per se borders on the irrelevant for the type of social equality that Sen envisions. His view of the good life is "consequential" of results and extends beyond considerations of income distribution. Indeed, one fascination is the fact that the life expectancy of a young man in Harlem is less than that of a man of the same age in the poverty stricken country of Bangladesh. Does this not imply that there is much more to inequality than income? Social and cultural mores, attitudes, and values are all involved in empowering individuals--all influence individuals "capability to function" in achieving basic desired ends that lead to the good life.