Welfare, Positive Freedom and Economic Development

Two “aspects of man have successively dominated the thinking of social philosophers over the past two centuries, each relevant in itself but sadly incomplete without the other. One sees him as a socio-biological machine, capable of effort and work for which he requires fuel in the form of nourishment. The other sees him as a seat of ‘utility’ or ‘satisfaction’, possessing desires and aspirations which need to be fulfilled. Classical political economy, developed in the early stages of the industrial revolution, emphasised an aspect of the first. The idea of a socially-determined ‘minimum subsistence wage’ occurs in David Ricardo’s writings, just as it does in the writings of Robert Malthus. It is, however, the latter aspect which has dominated social thought over the past hundred years or so. This too is understandable. With rising wealth in the industrialising economies, the basic necessities of life were beginning to be met for a majority of the population. What remained of concern were the ‘higher pleasures’ (for an illuminating account of this see A. K. Dasgupta, 1985).