Description

The book studies the notion of commitment in Amartya Sen, the Indian economist and philosopher. It also studies the relevance of this notion to the encyclical Caritas in veritate (CV) by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI on integral human development. Sen’s notion of commitment shows that the assumption of self-interest by mainstream economics and mainstream political philosophy as the only rational motive in our economic and political activities is inadequate and needs to be revised. Commitment, which has a limited domain, plays an important role in economic
activities and in our lives in society. It drives a wedge between personal choice and personal welfare. It is an actual reality in society, in which the roles of ethics, religion, culture and social norms of behaviour can be identified. The notion of efficiency employed in market mechanism is also subsequently questioned. Thus, capability growth of people through which they also express commitments is proposed as the objective of development. The pursuit of mutual benefits in mainstream political philosophy is also questioned and arguments for the important obligations of effective power are delineated. The book argues that persons have plural identities, because of which their commitments have a far and wide reach. Sen’s arguments are for a shared humanity, in which we have responsibility towards others in society, especially towards those in need. Thus, commitment is both rational and a reasonable motive. Sen’s notion of commitment is of particular relevance to the encyclical Caritas in veritate. We are thus able to identify points of convergence between love and commitment; truth and informational broadening; dignity of the human person and human agency; integral human development and development as freedom; common good and the other-centeredness; solidarity and social responsibility; subsidiarity and effective power; gratuitousness and commitment as a gift. In all these areas, the role of commitment is crucial.