--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No substantial famine has ever occurred…" description: "\"No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.\" — Amartya Sen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/amartya-sen-2518_country_no-substantial-famine-has-ever-occurred_532228.png" --- # No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent… ![“No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.” quote by Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/amartya-sen-2518_country_no-substantial-famine-has-ever-occurred_532228.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/amartya-sen-2518_country_no-substantial-famine-has-ever-occurred_532228.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/amartya-sen-2518_country_no-substantial-famine-has-ever-occurred_532228.png) > “No substantial famine has ever occurred in any independent and democratic country with a relatively free press.” [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free press prevents severe famine in democracies because it enables accountability and timely response. **In simple terms:** Free media helps avert famines. Key Takeaway Support press freedom for public welfare. Themes democracy press freedom food security governance human rights Mood informative optimistic Type scholarly policy When to use this quote - government planning - NGO interventions - community monitoring - media advocacy Key Concepts accountability information flow public policy Questions to Reflect On - How does media transparency affect crisis management? - What safeguards ensure press independence? A Different Perspective Press may be censored despite formal freedoms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-country/) [Famine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famine/) [Famine Occurred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famine-occurred-4351332/) [Free press](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-press/) [Independent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent/) [Independent Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/independent-democratic-4468517/) [Substantial Famine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/substantial-famine-4351333/) ## Related quotes > [No substantial famine has ever occurred in a democratic country - no matter how poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/no-substantial-famine-has-ever-occurred-in-a-democratic-country-no/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [ \[N\]o democracy with a free press has ever experienced a major famine. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/n-o-democracy-with-a-free-press-has-ever-experienced-a-major-famine/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Famines are easy to prevent if there is a serious effort to do so, and a democratic government, facing elections and criticisms from opposition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/famines-are-easy-to-prevent-if-there-is-a-serious-effort-to-do-so-and/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [For the last 25 years, myself and everybody in UKIP has worked to restore our country's former status as an independent, democratic nation that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-batten/for-the-last-25-years-myself-and-everybody-in-ukip-has-worked-to/) [Gerard Batten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-batten/) > [Famines occur under a colonial administration, like the British Raj in India or for that matter in Ireland, or under military dictators in one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/famines-occur-under-a-colonial-administration-like-the-british-raj-in/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [You can’t prevent undernourishment so easily, but famines you can stop with half an effort. Then the question was why don’t the governments stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/you-can-t-prevent-undernourishment-so-easily-but-famines-you-can-stop/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [I attempted to see famines as broad "economic" problems (concentrating on how people can buy food, or otherwise get entitled to it), rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/i-attempted-to-see-famines-as-broad-economic-problems-concentrating/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Hardly any famine affects more than 5 percent, almost never more than 10 percent, of the population. The largest proportion of a population affected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/hardly-any-famine-affects-more-than-5-percent-almost-never-more-than/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [If the government is vulnerable to public opinion, then famines are a dreadfully bad thing to have. 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Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [We live in a democratic country, and I take great pride in saying that I'm from India, a country where democracy is worshipped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-bajpayee/we-live-in-a-democratic-country-and-i-take-great-pride-in-saying-that/) [Manoj Bajpayee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-bajpayee/) > [When Estonia reestablished its sovereignty after a half century of successive thuggish, totalitarian, foreign occupations by the Soviets, the Nazis, and then again the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toomas-hendrik-ilves/when-estonia-reestablished-its-sovereignty-after-a-half-century-of/) [Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toomas-hendrik-ilves/) ## More by Amartya Sen > [Capability is just a concept of what is it we're looking at. Now how far we can go along that and what new capabilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/capability-is-just-a-concept-of-what-is-it-we-re-looking-at-now-how/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [“Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; Where knowledge is free; Where the world has not been broken up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/where-the-mind-is-without-fear-and-the-head-is-held-high-where/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people, championed by proficient artisans of terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/violence-is-fomented-by-the-imposition-of-singular-and-belligerent/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [I think the whole progress over the last two or three millennia has been entirely dependent on ideas and techniques and commodities and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/i-think-the-whole-progress-over-the-last-two-or-three-millennia-has/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [No famine has ever taken place in the history of the world in a functioning democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/no-famine-has-ever-taken-place-in-the-history-of-the-world-in-a/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [To say that certainly America was very lucky to get a large amount of land, and the native Indians were extremely unlucky to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/to-say-that-certainly-america-was-very-lucky-to-get-a-large-amount-of/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [The lack of economic freedom could be a very major reason for loss of liberty, liberty of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/the-lack-of-economic-freedom-could-be-a-very-major-reason-for-loss-of/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [We need to ask the moral questions: Do I have a right to be rich? 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