Vedic Science International Multidisciplinary Peer-reviewed Journal 

The articles below are the official digital versions of peer-reviewed papers from the print edition of the Vedic Science Journal.

Article  Information

Journal: Vedic Science
Volume: 28 | Issue: 3 | Year: 2026
Pages: 83–98
DOI:  https://doi.org/10.66718/vsj.v28.i3.08    
Received: 24 July, 2026
Accepted:  30 August, 2026
Published: 30 Sept., 2026

Kautilya's Ethical Surplus and the Foundations of Capability Expansion

Prof. Balbir Singh Sihag, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract

This article advances a new conceptual variable — ethical surplus — to reconcile Kautilya's political philosophy with Amartya Sen's capability approach to welfare and justice. Drawing on the Arthaśāstra's model of the rājarṣi (sage king), the article argues that ethical alignment of leadership generates measurable institutional advantages: reduced enforcement costs, expanded real freedoms, and enhanced social cohesion. The article demonstrates that Yogakshema — Kautilya's concept of acquisition and security — is not paternalistic welfare determination but a capability-expanding framework that anticipates Sen's central insight that what matters is what people are actually free to do and be. Two formal theorems are presented and proved: the Ethical Surplus Necessity Theorem, showing that democratic deliberation expands capabilities only when the ethical alignment of governance exceeds a critical threshold (θ > θ*); and the Ethical Enforcement Minimization Theorem, showing that ethical alignment minimizes enforcement costs and maximizes total welfare. A unified mathematical model formalizing the relationship between Kautilya's ethical surplus and Sen's capability expansion is developed. The article concludes that Sen's democratic capabilities approach implicitly presupposes the ethical infrastructure that Kautilya explicitly constructs.

Keywords

Kautilya, Arthaśāstra, rājarṣi, capability approach, Amartya Sen, ethical surplus, Yogakshema, welfare theory, comparative political philosophy, ethical governance

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How to cite this article

Sihag, B.S. (2026). Kautilya's Ethical Surplus and the Foundations of Capability Expansion. Vedic Science, 2026 (3), 83-98. ISSN: 0975-0312 (Print). DOI: https://doi.org/10.66718/vsj.v28.i3.08