Princess of Asturias Prize 2021 for Social Sciences: Amartya Sen, Three Children and a Flute | Opinion

Anne, Bob and Karla are three children fighting over the flute. Anne says it should be her, because alone she knows how to touch her. Bob, the poorer, says he deserves it more because, unlike his two friends, he has no toys. Karla also has a strong argument: she made the flute with her own hands, and she should be its legitimate owner. The dilemma posed by the scene shows why we need a theory of justice, or so believes Amartya Sen, the most recent Princess of Asturias Prize for Social Sciences. The decision as to who deserves the flute points to three different meanings of justice, all of which are completely neutral yet in conflict. Do we want a society that seeks human satisfaction, eradicates poverty, or safeguards the right to enjoy the work we do?

author The idea of ​​justice He argues that rights actually have more to do than having them. Fairness ensures that we can do things, and opportunities refer to the ability to do them more than they indicate what we have. Ultimately, everything affects our self-esteem, which is why it is important not only to ensure what we have but also how we are treated. We also know that educational opportunities empower us in different ways. We see it in Madrid, one of the most divided school districts in the European Union, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. We also know that being able to make, play with, or learn to play the flute depends on our access to other social goods, such as health care. But in Madrid, 41 primary care centers will be closed, and it is the one provided by the doctors who care for us in the long term because they know our life history. The local administration, which is the state, supports or restricts justice to its work. For example, stick, bulls, going to the block, and participating in that set of positive emotions that we have been craving during this pandemic, with an emphasis on a negative stated goal: preventing others from interfering with our activity. But it was the separation of services, a strategy widely used in Latin America, rather than epidemic fatigue, that gave Ayusu a victory, making it the only European capital where the right rules with support from the far right.

Anne, Bob and Karla deserve this flute, knowing that their lives will be marked by the principles we adhere to when allocating resources, and principles that, Amartya Sen recalls, will define libertarians or equals. These children need to acquire the capabilities that allow them to exercise their rights, and orient themselves in the deliberate noises surrounding the theories that help us know the most fair and appropriate decisions. Above all, they deserve an education to read by authors like Amartya Sen.