Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said on Monday that there should be more discussions on how Bangladesh would sustain its social and economic progress without addressing inequality in the society.
He made the suggestion while responding to a question from economist Wahiduddin Mahmud about how it would be possible for Bangladesh to continue to achieve progress amid lack of good governance, institutional weakness, capital flight and growing bad loans.
Wahiduddin Mahmud asked the question while presenting the key note paper on Amartya Sen’s ‘Quest for a Prosperous and Just Society’ at the Amartya Sen study circle organised by Banglar Pathshala.
Mr Sen, who participated in the programme through ‘Skype’ from Shantiniketan in West Bengal as he skipped the visit to Bangladesh due to coronavirus scare, said more thought should be given to the issues.
We say it sadly and with great disappointment that when he talks about economic and social progress achieved in Bangladesh he appears to be completely unaware of the reality of economic hollowness. The attempt to show progress by undertaking big projects has yet to be completed though huge sums of money are being spent for buying loyalty through corruption.
We know Mr Sen judges progress by taking into account human indicators. But what he does not know is-the government is completely in the cusp of unscrupulous bureaucrats who are convenient liars. They have no other choice but to suppress the truth.
Mr Sen is theoretically right but factually wrong. The human factor must be at the centre of economic progress. In our country’s economy that factor is completely missing. We do not agree that money guzzling projects can ensure progress. Progress must be understood in the light of progress – that means in the quality of life and security of life. There is only one criterion of progress in a human society.
He should have known how misleadingly big projects have been undertaken to fool the people to show progress with dazzling development while the whole idea is to construct a bureaucratic network of corruption for survival of a failed government. The government is fearful of free election. That cannot be a sign of progress regarding economic or social.
Mr Sen should not have been so easily misled by trump up claims of economic progress when the country’s economy is on the edge of collapse. He should have worried about the mindless and limitless corruption that has infected the whole administration while the government itself is in disarray. Truths are coming out.
Mr Sen will not have to wait too long to see the chaos of destruction engulfing the economic institutions. Rampant looting along with weak governance cannot bring economic progress in any country. He should have been more thoughtful before commenting on the country’s economy.
