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Freedom and Our Future
Page 7
Memorandum for the President
Amartya Sen, February 25, 2000
very fast expansion of female education . but no compulsory family planning - experienced a
similarly fast decline in the fertility rate. In fact, Kerala's expansion of female education has been
faster than China's (Kerala now has a higher rate of female literacy than every province of China),
and its decline in fertility rates has been faster as well, even over the period since 1979, when the
"one child" policy was introduced in China. The-Chinese fertility rate fell from 2.8 to 2.0 between
1979 and 1991; Kerala's rate fell in the same period from 3.0 to 1.8. (That lead of Kerala has
continued, with later information suggesting a fertility rate of 1.9 in China and of 1.7 in Kerala.)
Also, thanks to the process of fertility decline being freely chosen, rather than coercive, the infant
mortality rate has continued to fall in Kerala in a way it has not in China, particularly for female
infants. Indeed, the mortality rate for female infants is now about twice as high in China as in
Kerala.
Freedom and Social Institutions
To conclude, a freedom-centred view has distinct advantages over more conventional views
in looking at the prospects and needs of the future with adequate clarity and reach. First, it
provides a framework for seeing individual and social progress in terms of the basic ends, rather
that only the proximate means (such as the GNP).
Second, since freedoms of different kinds contribute to enhancing freedoms of other kinds,
a freedom-centred view also offers instrumental insights. By focusing on the interconnections
between freedoms of different types, it takes us well beyond the narrow perspective of seeing each
freedom in isolation. We live in a world of many institutions (involving the market, the
government, the judiciary, the political parties, the media, and so on), and we have to see how they
can supplement and strengthen each other, rather than getting in each other's way.
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"ocrText": "Freedom and Our Future\nPage 7\nMemorandum for the President\nAmartya Sen, February 25, 2000\nvery fast expansion of female education . but no compulsory family planning - experienced a\nsimilarly fast decline in the fertility rate. In fact, Kerala's expansion of female education has been\nfaster than China's (Kerala now has a higher rate of female literacy than every province of China),\nand its decline in fertility rates has been faster as well, even over the period since 1979, when the\n\"one child\" policy was introduced in China. The-Chinese fertility rate fell from 2.8 to 2.0 between\n1979 and 1991; Kerala's rate fell in the same period from 3.0 to 1.8. (That lead of Kerala has\ncontinued, with later information suggesting a fertility rate of 1.9 in China and of 1.7 in Kerala.)\nAlso, thanks to the process of fertility decline being freely chosen, rather than coercive, the infant\nmortality rate has continued to fall in Kerala in a way it has not in China, particularly for female\ninfants. Indeed, the mortality rate for female infants is now about twice as high in China as in\nKerala.\nFreedom and Social Institutions\nTo conclude, a freedom-centred view has distinct advantages over more conventional views\nin looking at the prospects and needs of the future with adequate clarity and reach. First, it\nprovides a framework for seeing individual and social progress in terms of the basic ends, rather\nthat only the proximate means (such as the GNP).\nSecond, since freedoms of different kinds contribute to enhancing freedoms of other kinds,\na freedom-centred view also offers instrumental insights. By focusing on the interconnections\nbetween freedoms of different types, it takes us well beyond the narrow perspective of seeing each\nfreedom in isolation. We live in a world of many institutions (involving the market, the\ngovernment, the judiciary, the political parties, the media, and so on), and we have to see how they\ncan supplement and strengthen each other, rather than getting in each other's way."
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