From Growth to Mutual Flourishing: A Relational Challenge to Development Economics

Abstract

Development economics has long been shaped by the assumption that progress can be understood
primarily through economic growth and the expansion of individual well-being. Even approaches that move
beyond income-based measures, such as the capability approach associated with Amartya Sen, continue to treat
the individual as the central unit of analysis. This paper argues that such frameworks remain conceptually limited
because they overlook the fundamentally relational character of human life. Adopting a conceptual and normative
approach, the paper advances a relational ontology of development in which well-being is understood as emerging
through social relationships, interdependence, and shared forms of life rather than as a property possessed by
isolated individuals. On this basis, the paper introduces the concept of mutual flourishing as an alternative
perspective on development. Rather than defining development in terms of accumulation, output, or individual
capability alone, a relational perspective emphasizes the social, institutional, and ecological conditions that enable
people to flourish together. In doing so, the paper contributes to ongoing debates in development theory by
rethinking the conceptual foundations of well-being, sustainability, and economic progress from a relational
standpoint