I am a big fan of Sen, and from the comments at MR, the best summary of how I feel about his work.
But, IMHO, the most important thing about Sen is that he is a Wayne Gretsky academic (I am a Canadian and a hockey player who was born with seven instead of five senses is a useful point of reference, Tyler might prefer to cite other people with seven senses such as Mozart or Degas, but my real point is that Sen has a brain which works in ways normal human beings can aspire to but never reach). The great thing about being an economist is that questions addressed by economics have attracted many of the the most innately brilliant people in human history and Sen is one of these. Moreover, he has devoted his life to thinking about the problem of creating a better world while simultaneously trying to hold anyone who wants to talk about ” a better world” accountable for their definition of what a better world really means.
Has he found the “holy grail”? No. But anyone searching should read every thing he has written (since it will reveal your errors and help provide direction.) Still his recent popular publications are among the best of his career. He seems to want to make a difference in the real world (i.e beyond the academic world) and, in particular, his work in economic development is practical but not formulaic. Most critics, who are unfamiliar with the way he thinks and of the way his earlier work feeds his pop work, don’t really get it. But an average reader can get a lot.
I don’t agree with everything he writes, but that is beside the point. He writes in a way that invites internal debate within yourself and forces you to confront your grounds of objection, or to validate internally your agreements.
It’s the closest I’ve come to feeling like I’m in an intense seminar, whilst being completely alone.
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