Voices of Power and Whimpers of Values: A Challenge to Animating the Capability Approach. (original) (raw)
Related papers
2008
The capability approach (CA) was initiated and guided by Amartya Sen, since the 1980s, as an alternative to neoclassical welfare economics. The approach emerged gradually out of his rich critique of mainstream economics, in particular his dissatisfaction with conventional notions of rationality (eg in 'Rational fools', 1977), efficiency (eg in 'The impossibility of a Paretian liberal', 1970), utility (eg in On Ethics and Economics, 1987), and well-being (eg in Development as Freedom, 1999).
European Journal of Sociology, 2013
The capability approach has been developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum and others as a human-centred normative framework for the evaluation of individual and group well-being, quality of life and social justice. Sen and Nussbaum's ideas have influenced global, national and local policy and have been further developed in a number of academic disciplines, but so far have remained largely unnoticed in sociology. This article examines recent capability-informed theories and empirical applications in the sociology of human rights and other academic fields adjacent to sociology, focussing on examples of social policy studies in the fields of welfare, the labour market, health and disability, and education. The article outlines several potential areas in which capability-informed frameworks are relevant for critical social theory, public sociology and global sociology.
Mutual dependency between capabilities and functionings in Amartya Sen’s capability approach
Social Choice and Welfare, 2008
Amartya Sen's capability approach has recently been widely discussed as a theoretical basis for making resource allocation decisions in health care. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between capabilities and functionings in the capability approach. The paper shows that some functionings are not only the result of capabilities, but also their prerequisite. That is, there is a dual role of some functionings as both ends and instruments, resulting in a mutual dependency between capabilities and functionings. Functionings may be a direct requirement for capabilities, but also an indirect one because they ensure the absence of mental disorders or negative thoughts, both of which are relevant constraints on freedom. This has important implications. It supports a policy that ensures for everyone an initial endowment of (1) mental and physical health, (2) education, and (3) other functionings with a direct or indirect impact on capabilities.
Journal of Human Development The Capability Approach: a theoretical survey
This paper aims to present a theoretical survey of the capability approach in an interdisciplinary and accessible way. It focuses on the main conceptual and theoretical aspects of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well-being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society. Its main characteristics are its highly interdisciplinary character, and the focus on the plural or multidimensional aspects of well-being. The approach highlights the difference between means and ends, and between substantive freedoms (capabilities) and outcomes (achieved functionings).
On the Possibility of the Capability Approach as a Political Philosophy
Arkhe-logos, 2018
The paper analyses the possibility of developing the capability approach (the CA) as political philosophy. Stemming from the simultaneous inquiries of economists (such as Amartya Sen) and philosophers (such as Martha Nussbaum), the CA has always had strong philosophical underpinnings. Yet, in this capacity, the approach is typically concerned with social justice.
Internal Debates within Capability Approach Debate Between Amartya Sen And Martha Nussbaum
International Research Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 2015
Capability approach is an evolving subject. While Amartya Sen developed the skeleton of the capability approach, the colleagues of Sen and his followers expanded the approach. Martha Nussbaum is a colleague of Amartya Sen who tried to use capability approach as a broad theory of social justice. Hence, she tried to be very methodological in her understanding of capability approach. She argued that a comprehensive understanding of capability approach needs us to go beyond Sen. She added a new twist to the existing understanding of the subject. She prepared a list of capabilities which she thought will provide the best conditions for human development. She claims that her list is more practical and suitable for gender justice. The present paper is an attempt to probe into the issues raised by Nussbaum. Along with this, the paper would also try to draw attention to the similar kind of lists prepared by other contemporary writers. In the concluding part it would focus on why it is a anom...
The capability approach: a theoretical survey
2005
This paper aims to present a theoretical survey of the capability approach in an interdisciplinary and accessible way. It focuses on the main conceptual and theoretical aspects of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen, Martha Nussbaum, and others. The capability approach is a broad normative framework for the evaluation and assessment of individual well‐being and social arrangements, the design of policies, and proposals about social change in society.
This article discusses the theoretical scheme of human development as proposed in the 1990s by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) by exploring the theoretical foundations of Amartya Sen's capability approach. Sen critiques traditional development thinking that considers Gross Domestic Product growth as a principal vehicle for progress and economic development. Human Development, grounded on the capability approach, focuses on the enhancement of people's real freedom to choose the kinds of lives they have reasons to value. This essay explores the strengths and weaknesses of the capability approach toward realizing holistic human development, an approach that focuses on human development as enhancement of individual freedom. For the capability approach to be an effective tool for evaluating human development, however, it is argued here that Ubuntu philosophy should be incorporated. Ubuntu philosophy envisions the human being as a communal being driven by the virtues of cooperation and solidarity.
What is the capability approach?
Journal of Socio-economics, 2007
The paper specifies the core elements of Amartya Sen's capability approach to socio-economic valuation. It analyzes recent formulations by some of Sen's close associates, in addition to his own work, and identifies important variants, obscurities and tensions, as well as the key rationale and value-added of the approach. The approach is placed within a system of partner discourses, notably the broader ‘human development’ approach. The paper then shows issues faced in operationalization, and dangers that overly vague specification of the approach's rationale and commitments could lead to questionable choices in practical use.