Inequality Reexamined

Professor Sen revisits the issues tackled in his previous seminal work, On Economic Inequality, first published in 1973, and provides new analyses and insights in this crucial area. This original and incisive book brings together and develops some of the most important themes of Sen's work over the last decade. He notes that the difference between virtually all contemporary ethical approaches to social arrangements lies not in whether they demand equality or not–they all demand equality of something–but in what sort of equality they propound. Any claim to equality must take account of the diversity of human beings and their characteristics. Sen argues in a rich and subtle approach that we should be concerned with people's capabilities rather than either their resources or their welfare. Sen also looks at some types of inequalities that have not yet been studied as systematically as inequalities of class and wealth have been. These include, inter alia, the important issue of gender inequality.