Keywords
Abstract
Economic growth is commonly treated as a principal indicator of national success, yet increases in production and income do not automatically create a just or flourishing society. This article examines the relationship between economic development and social justice through a philosophical and methodological approach. It considers how different traditions in moral and political philosophy define welfare, freedom, equality, responsibility, and the public good, and how these ideas influence economic policy. The discussion draws on classical political economy, UTILITARIAN welfare economics, John Rawls’s theory of justice, and Amartya Sen’s capability approach. It argues that gross domestic product and average income are useful but incomplete measures of progress because they do not adequately reveal distribution, unpaid work, social exclusion, environmental costs, or people’s real opportunities to live valuable lives. The article also examines the ethical implications of inequality, taxation, public services, employment, technological change, and sustainable development. Methodologically, it proposes a plural framework that combines macroeconomic indicators with distributional data and measures of human capabilities. The central conclusion is that economic policy should assess not only how much an economy produces, but also who benefits, which freedoms are expanded, and whether development can be sustained across generations.
References
. Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Terence Irwin. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1999.
2. Mill, J. S. Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn, 1863.
3. Smith, A. The Theory of Moral Sentiments. 6th ed. London: A. Millar, 1790.
4. Smith, A. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell, 1776.
5. Rawls, J. A Theory of Justice. Revised ed. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999.
6. Sen, A. Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.
7. Sen, A. The Idea of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
8. Stiglitz, J. E., Sen, A., and Fitoussi, J.-P. Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn’t Add Up. New York: The New Press, 2010.
9. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 2023/2024: Breaking the Gridlock. New York: UNDP, 2024.
10. World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987.
11. Atkinson, A. B. Inequality: What Can Be Done? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015.
12. Fleurbaey, M., and Blanchet, D. Beyond GDP: Measuring Welfare and Assessing Sustainability. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.