An Evaluation of the Intellectual Contributions - Case Study Example

Contemporary Society The intellectual contributions made by eminent social thinkers and scholars have often been one of the most reliable resources for humanity to realise the various aspects and characteristics of the contemporary society they are living in. Every epoch in human history has been characterised by the contribution of several intellectual giants whose works and writings helped the people of that particular period to formulate the accurate idea about the society of the time. Thus, it is most inevitable to comprehend the intellectual contributions to the understanding of contemporary society made by social thinkers such as Raymond Williams, Heidi Hartman, Iris Marion Young, Zygmunt Bauman, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, John Rawls, David Miller, Martha Nussbaum, and Amartya Sen. Two of the most influential figures among these in a profound understanding of contemporary society in it various features and aspects have been Raymond Williams and Amartya Sen and this paper undertakes an evaluation of the intellectual contributions by these social philosophers whose works and writings helped modern man in realising the realities of present-day society. Williams’ contributions to politics, culture, the mass media, cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach, and literature as well as Sen’s works in welfare economics, social choice theory, economic growth, economic development and social topics helped the modern man tremendously in his understanding of the contemporary society. Raymond Henry Williams (1921-1988), the Welsh novelist, literary critic, cultural historian, cultural and political theorist, and social philosopher, has been often considered as one of the most prominent figures within the New Left movement and an eminent thinker of the wider culture. Through his important writings on politics, culture, the mass media, and literature, Raymond Williams offered salient contribution to the Marxist critique of culture and the arts. He has also been called the virtual architect of the interdisciplinary field identified as ‘cultural studies’ and his intellectual contributions have influenced every area of cultural study in the modern period. His Politics and Letters (1979), an account of his life and work, has been regarded as the single groundwork for cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach. Amartya Kumar Sen, (1933- ), the most important figure in the fields of welfare economics, social choice theory, economic growth and economic development for over three decades, hails from India and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1998 for his ground-breaking work on development issues. It is widely recognised that the award was given mainly for his contributions to welfare economics and he was greatly interested in the social sources of famine, poverty, and inequality, and the need for women’s empowerment. He formulated the idea that development is the real freedom to humanity. “His topics range from the relationships between economics and ethics, economic methodology and the nature of well-being, to explorations of the Arrow impossibility theorem and a social impossibility theorem of his own (the impossibility of a Paretian liberal), to capital and growth theory, choice of technology, hunger and sex discrimination. Virtually unique among economists, he is highly regarded by the mainstream of the profession... Sen enjoys equally high stature among social philosophers and students of other social sciences.” (Putterman, 577) Therefore, Amartya Sen is celebrated not only for his contributions to welfare economics and social choice theory, but also for his remarkable role as a social philosopher who dealt with famine, poverty, and inequality, and the need for women’s empowerment. The works and intellectual contributions of both Raymond Williams and Amartya Sen helped international community in the understanding of contemporary society. Raymond Williams has made valuable contribution to the understanding of cultural materialism and he regarded culture as the most essential arena where individuals are transformed as social beings. He makes significant definition of his theory of cultural materialism in his Marxism and Literature where it is explained as a theory of the specificities of material, cultural and literary production within historical materialism. “Thus, his conception of culture is deeply rooted in what he calls ‘material social life’; it cannot be limited to the realms of ideas -Marxist superstructure-but needs to be dependent on social, material practices, where it can keep connection with society, history and every-day life. In addition, he lays a big emphasis on culture as a social process that tends to ‘natural growth’ and, hence, has a repercussion in the progress of the humankind.” (A Critical Analysis of Raymond Williams’ Professional Career) Therefore, one finds an expansion of the literary field in Williams’ notion of culture which understands cultural forms unlike the traditional, highbrow canon admired in academic studies of his period. To him, culture belongs to every human being including the old leisured classes as well as the new emerging class. “He claims that the ideas of the highly literate are not necessarily those of the majority. Besides, we should not conceive this majority as a ‘block.’ To him, we need to disassociate ‘popular’ or rather ‘working-class’ culture from labels such as ‘mass culture’ which had been traditionally related to lower artistic forms.” (A Critical Analysis of Raymond Williams’ Professional Career) Through his contributions to the cultural studies and sociological ideologies, Raymond Williams helped the modern man realise the realities of contemporary world. The cultural studies of the modern periods make salient contribution to the understanding of cultural aspects as well as social characteristics and the value of Williams’ work to cultural studies is widely acknowledged in Britain today. According to Terry Eagleton, “Almost single-handedly, he transformed cultural studies from the relative crudity in which he found them to a marvellously rich, resourceful body of work. In so doing he altered irreversibly the intellectual and political map of Britain.” (Eagleton, 9) In short, the significant role of Raymond Williams as the chief contributor to cultural studies is indubitable and his several writings have become essential resources for modern scholars of cultural studies. Several intellectuals of the contemporary world have acknowledged the immense contributions made by Raymond Williams towards the better understanding of the current society. Thus, it has been maintained time and again that he offered modern man resources for a journey of hope. He made his salient contributions to the world for the renovation of society, “elaborating those forms of radical, democratic self-management that he had once championed as an antidote to bureaucratic and authoritarian modes of power in The Long Revolution. Not only a scholar of major proportions, Williams was also an ‘exemplary intellectual’ for whom political engagement, as much as cultural criticism, was a genuine vocation. While not disparaging the theoretical paths currently being traversed in cultural studies... it is perhaps fitting to conclude by emphasizing the importance of Williamss social commitment.” (Waters, 556) There is no other contemporary economist who has made as much contribution to the modern man in the realization of his realities in the contemporary society as the great Nobel laureate Amartya Sen. Therefore, the role of this great Indian economist in the human history will be as one who helped the contemporary human beings to closely comprehend the society in which they are living. His economic and political philosophies are abundantly available to the young generations of the world who are attracted by the power of his writings and influence of his ideas. He has played a significant role as a welfare economist in the contemporary world. However, his other social commitments also helped his readers understand the current society in reality and through his important writings he has controlled the intellectual sphere of contemporary men and women. “He has focused attention on the social sources of famine, poverty, and inequality, and he has highlighted the need for women’s empowerment... One of his better known works is Poverty and Famines: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation which challenges the view that a shortage of food is the main cause of famine. Sen proved, instead, that famines have a class basis and occur only in undemocratic countries.” (Barsamian, 31) Therefore, the important works by Amartya Sen deal with the salient issues concerning contemporary society and the readers are moved by the powerful portrayal of modern economic and social situation of individuals. Amartya Sen is primarily an economist whose economic contributions have influenced the social setting of the current time and it is, therefore, most imperative to comprehend the economic contributions of this great philosopher of economics. “Sen’s contributions fall into three main areas: a philosophical critique of traditional economic assumptions, an attempt to build a more realistic economic science based on the notion of entitlements and human capabilities, and a long series of practical contributions to welfare economics that follow from the capabilities approach - how to measure poverty and inequality better, how to understand famine and hunger, the importance of gender in economic development, and the differences between economic development and economic growth.” (Pressman and Summerfield) Amartya Sen has been a staunch critic of traditional economic assumptions and he attempted to renovate the philosophical aspects of economics. His vital contribution to the modern society has been as a person who tried to construct a more realistic economic science which is based on the notion of entitlements and human capabilities and his books concentrated on this attempt. He has been regarded as one of the chief originators of welfare economics and the series of practical contributions of Sen to welfare economics that follow from the capabilities approach illustrate his importance in modern economics. His economic philosophies had an important link with the social conditions of present world and he was dealt with how to determine poverty and inequality more effectively, how to recognize famine and hunger, the implication of gender in economic development, and the differences between economic development and economic growth etc. Therefore, central social issues such as economic inequality, poverty, famine and hunger, the need for women’s empowerment, the improvement of living conditions for all etc underlay his economic contributions and his intellectual contributions helped modern man to realize contemporary society better and more realistically. An analysis of the distinguishing contributions of Amartya Sen in the economic and social spheres helps one realise the pertinent role of this great economist in the modern society. The economic and social contributions made by Sen have been realised as distinctive in several ways. Significantly, he challenged the traditional economic concept known as the orthodoxy of mainstream economics that the ‘rational individual’ has to be engaged in maximising his or her personal utility subject to a budget constraint. According to this orthodoxy of mainstream economics, welfare is the sum total of individual utilities and this is purely based on utilitarianism. In this economic philosophy, socially-based sentiments such as ‘sympathy’ or ‘commitment’ are given no value and utilitarianism was the central concept of this line of thinking. Sen rejected this view of economics as too narrow and developed his own notions of economic growth and welfare. “Social welfare should be based on more than just individual utilities defined in the narrow sense of the individuals command over goods and services, contends Sen... Sen has also pointed out how individual actions are often socially determined, and how individuals acting in isolation may often produce a suboptimal result which can be improved upon by collective action. His work on ‘isolation paradox’ is another example of the individual-collective dichotomy which the market may not resolve in an efficient manner, but either an appropriate government intervention or cooperative action by individuals can.” (Mukhopadhaya and Chatterjee, 25) Therefore, the essential ideas of Sen constitute a refutation of various widely held views in mainstream economic theory and his pursuit for analytic rigour and policy-guidance helped him to contribute to the development of the society through his seminal economic principles. It is essential to comprehend that Sen has used economic theoretic insights in order to campaign policies that contend with some of the endemic problems faced societies from time to time. “Sen’s reputation as an outstanding theoretical economist derives from his contributions in a diverse range of issues, as indicated above. Perhaps the area in which his intellectual influence has been the most pervasive is social choice theory... Sen, the accomplished economic theorist, is also a ‘leading light’ amongst philosophers... And yet, for all for all his insightful contributions to numerous areas of the social sciences and philosophy, his influence may have been even greater when he takes on the activist role.” (Mukhopadhaya and Chatterjee, 25) In conclusion, the intellectual contributions made by Raymond Williams and Amartya Sen have been of vital significance in the understanding of contemporary society. Raymond Williams, through his contributions to politics, culture, the mass media, cultural studies and the cultural materialist approach, and literature as well as Amartya Sen, through his imperative works in welfare economics, social choice theory, economic growth, economic development and social topics helped the modern man tremendously in his understanding of the contemporary society. Works Cited “A Critical Analysis of Raymond Williams’ Professional Career.” Raymond Williams Website. 11 March, 2009. . Barsamian, David. “Amartya Sen.” The Progressive. Vol. 65. Iss. 8. 2001. P 31. Eagleton, Terry. “Introduction”. Raymond Williams: Critical Perspectives. Terry Eagleton. (Ed). Boston: Northeastern UP, 1989. P 9. Mukhopadhaya, Pundarik and Srikanta Chatterjee. “Unfashionable Economics Selected Contributions of Amartya K. Sen: 1998 Economics Nobel Laureate.” New Zealand Economic Papers. Vol. 34. Iss. 1. 2000. P 25. Pressman, Steven and Gale Summerfield. “The Economic Contributions of Amartya Sen.” IDEAS. 12 March, 2009. . Putterman, Louis. “Amartya Sen.” A Biographical Dictionary of Dissenting Economists. Philip Arestis and Malcolm C. Sawyer (Ed). Edward Elgar Publishing. 2000 P 577. Waters, Chris. “Review Forum: Raymond Williams towards 2000.” Victorian Studies. Vol. 37. Iss. 4. 1994. P 556. Read More