Sen’s project is not unique. His goal is to develop a superior ethical theory or
framework from within which to distil appropriate social policies in the context of developing
countries. He considers that all the properties underlying the general consensus on
traditional welfare economics are eminently contestable, and dismisses Pareto optimality as
“a very limited kind of success”. He seeks to divert attention away from the metric of
exchange value and the maximisation of income to the development of human capabilities
and rights. He offers a view of development in which freedom is both the principal means and
the primary end of the development process. Sen’s message is that human “unfreedoms” are
decreased as human capabilities are increased.