LAND OF THE FREE? AN ANALYSIS OF CURRENT LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE USA BASED ON INDICES OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM.
Author
Callaway, Jordan Bret
Term
4. term
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-05-31
Pages
53
Abstract
This thesis examines whether the United States can be considered a developed country when development is assessed through individuals’ real freedoms rather than national averages. Drawing on Amartya Sen’s Development as Freedom, the study places individuals and institutions at the center and evaluates the U.S. across five domains: political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees, and protective security. Methodologically, it assesses U.S. levels of substantive freedoms in these areas to show how economic, political, and social conditions shape people’s actual capabilities. Findings indicate a notably high level of negative liberty—such as strong protections for free speech and wide consumption choices—and the availability of world-class health and education services for some. At the same time, a substantial share of the population, from the bottom fifth to the bottom two fifths of the income distribution, faces systematic freedom deprivations, with economic constraints cascading into losses of political and social freedoms. The thesis concludes that U.S. development is unevenly distributed, and that continued prioritization of government non-interference over expanding substantive freedoms risks putting the American Dream further out of reach for many.
Denne afhandling undersøger, om USA kan betragtes som et udviklet land, når udvikling måles som individers reelle friheder frem for nationale gennemsnit. Med udgangspunkt i Amartya Sens teori Development as Freedom sætter studiet individet og institutioner i centrum og vurderer USA på fem frihedsdimensioner: politiske friheder, økonomiske faciliteter, sociale muligheder, gennemsigtighedsgarantier og beskyttende sikkerhed. Metodisk afprøves USA’s niveauer af substantielle friheder i disse områder for at belyse, hvordan økonomiske, politiske og sociale forhold påvirker menneskers faktiske handlemuligheder. Resultaterne peger på et bemærkelsesværdigt højt niveau af negative friheder, herunder stærk beskyttelse af ytringsfrihed og brede forbrugsmuligheder, samt tilstedeværelsen af sundheds- og uddannelsestilbud i global topklasse. Samtidig viser analysen, at en stor del af befolkningen fra den nederste femtedel til de nederste to femtedele af indkomstfordelingen oplever systematiske frihedsindskrænkninger, hvor økonomiske begrænsninger forplanter sig til tab af politiske og sociale friheder. Afhandlingen konkluderer, at USA’s udviklingsniveau er ujævnt fordelt, og at en vedvarende prioritering af ikke-indblanding fra staten frem for at udvide substantielle friheder risikerer at gøre den amerikanske drøm mindre opnåelig for mange.
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