Sen, Amartya

"The capability to engage in cultural activities is fundamental to human dignity."

"History matters because it shapes the possibilities available to us today."

"We cannot separate economics from ethics and politics."

"Happiness without meaningful freedom is not genuine happiness."

"The aim of development is not just wealth creation, but the expansion of human capabilities."

"We live in interconnected societies where our freedoms depend on others' freedoms."

"Literacy is not just about reading and writing - it is about the capability to participate fully in society."

"Justice requires respecting the plurality of human values and ways of living."

"The capability approach recognizes that people value different things - and that is legitimate."

"We cannot understand well-being without understanding what people themselves value."

"Economic policies must be evaluated not just by their efficiency, but by their impact on human freedoms."

"Inequality is unjust not just because resources are distributed unfairly, but because it denies people equal capabilities."

"The absence of unfreedom is not the same as the presence of freedom."

"We must listen to what people say about their own lives and aspirations."

"Democracy is not just a voting mechanism - it is a way of respectfully engaging with diverse perspectives."

"The capability to be educated is a fundamental human right."

"Social change requires changing not just institutions, but also how we think about what is possible."

"Poverty is not inevitable - it is the result of choices we make and structures we create."

"We are responsible not just for our intentions, but for the consequences of our actions."

"Human development must be about people becoming agents of their own lives."

"Justice requires both removing unfair inequalities and ensuring everyone has real capabilities to flourish."

"We cannot reduce human value to economic metrics."

"The right to participate in decisions affecting your community is essential to human dignity."

"Economic inequality matters because it creates inequality in power and freedom."

"We must think about what kind of people and society we want to become."

"Education empowers people to understand their circumstances and change them."

"The capability to be healthy is both intrinsically valuable and instrumentally important for other freedoms."

"We should care about both the processes by which people make choices and the actual outcomes."

"Justice is not abstract - it is about real people being able to live the lives they value."

"The interconnectedness of human beings means that injustice anywhere threatens justice everywhere."