Sustainability, Capabilities and Human Security

Abstract

vulnerable women. There is another aspect of inequality, however, which does not receive as much attention in the book as it deserves. It is the inequality between the rich and the poor. Even if it is assumed that the rich and the poor are equally endowed with innate artistic talents, it does not follow that the institutions and incentives that promote arts in general will enable the poor to benefit as much as the rich. Kabanda seems confident that if the opportunity for using arts as a saleable commodity is created, even the poorest children with musical talents will find a way out of poverty in their adult lives. His own personal life is a glowing testimony to this possibility. The problem, however, lies in generalising from the life of one person or of a few. Lessons from experience from around the world shows that in the context of many different services – such as access to healthcare, education and finance – generalised institutions and incentives do not always help the poor as the rich tend to corner most of the benefits. For the poor to benefit from them, such services need to be specially designed so that the poor can overcome the specific disadvantages they face vis-à-vis the rich in accessing them. There is no reason to suppose that access to arts will be an exception to this pattern. The challenge, therefore, lies not just in creating institutions for popularising arts as a generalised instrument for development, but also in designing the institutions in such a way that the poor can benefit from them at least as much as the rich. This book goes a long way towards enlightening us on the first part of the challenge; the second part needs more attention.