The Idea Of Justice By Amartya Sen Summary

“The Idea of Justice” by Amartya Sen is a book that discusses how justice is defined and approached. Sen is a professor at Harvard University and the 1998 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics (Sen, 2009). His other written works include topics on Indian history and culture, social choice theory, and welfare economics (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2014).

Sen’s book is divided into four parts. His writing style is easy to follow. He would make note of discussing a topic in future chapters, remind the reader when he was looking back to an idea already mentioned, and elaborate on a thought where the foundation had been previously laid out in another chapter. This style gave an amount of fluidity to the book that enhanced the ability of the reader

Throughout his book he illustrated a need to incorporate many perspectives when trying to define what is just. This is similar to George DeMartino’s idea in “The Economist’s Oath” that society benefits from diversity of thought. He asserted that a variety of opinions was important when examining an issue, in particular issues that are more complex. He warned against group think (DeMartino, 2011). Sen too discourages group think as it can be seen in the current thoughts on justice as based in transcendentalism and an idea of defining utopian institutions of justice (Sen, 2009). Both Sen and DeMartino reflect what could be a trend of thought sparked by increased globalization; a revised renaissance perspective of recognizing the many voices of different cultures and beliefs as global communication and connectivity have become easier. “Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education” by Sonia Nieto and Patty Bode looked at the concerns of social justice and the benefits of a multicultural education. They discussed the transition in thought toward embracing this teaching style over the past twenty years (Nieto & Bode, 2011). The works of Sen, DeMartino, Nieto, and Bode reflect increased diversity. The singular way of examining an issue as right or wrong, ethical or unethical, just or unjust is being shed for a multidimensional way of representing a seemingly yes or no