The news that food aid to Burma has had to be suspended because the military junta that rules the country has seized it for its own purposes is as depressing as it is predictable. Considering that one and a half million survivors of the cyclone are in dire need of assistance, the consequences of this are appalling. The situation in Burma is a reminder of why Amartya Sen was right to argue that only democracy guarantees that the best interests of the citizenry is the state’s paramount concern.
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