Amartya Sen
Economic growth means little if people lack the freedom to live the lives they value. Poverty is not merely a lack of money, but a deprivation of human capability.
Development must focus on capabilities, which are the substantive freedoms a person has to achieve different combinations of valued beings and doings.
Poverty should be understood as the deprivation of basic capabilities rather than just low income, because income is only instrumentally valuable.
Different types of instrumental freedoms, such as political rights and economic facilities, inherently interconnect and reinforce one another to drive societal progress.