Development as freedom after Flint: a geographical approach to capabilities and antipoverty communication

Abstract

ABSTRACTDespite widespread acceptance of the capabilities approach the world finds itself more unequal, more damaged by war and subjected to unnecessary scarcity. Is it possible that Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom (DAF) (2000) paradigm, itself, needs a reappraisal in light of this? Or, what makes Sen so easy to ignore? The essay below argues, like some, for specifics and ‘feasible prescription’ in the reading of Sen’s work, but it pushes that Sen’s approach is not specific enough in its analytical frameworks for the causes of key forms of poverty. As a remedy, this essay looks at this important text’s problems and opportunities, specifically from a geographical perspective. This is done in the context of Flint City, Michigan, USA’s politically made ongoing water disaster as a heuristic (and to keep it on the tips of our tongues) for imagining how parts of the geographical tradition can push DAF into more rigorous territory. How does Flint reveal the geographical nature of ‘capabilities deprivation’, or Sen’s reframing of poverty? And, what new directives become necessary for an understanding of Sen's approach when considering geography and communication together? What new directives become necessary for an understanding of development as freedom? We begin with Flint City, a quintessential case of Sen’s capabilities deprivation.