Capabilities and Social Justice: The Political Philosophy of Amartya Sen and Martha NussbaumThe capability approach to social justice construes a person's well-being in terms of the substantive freedoms people have reason to value beyond mere utility or access to resources. In this book John Alexander engages with the rapidly growing body of literature on the capability approach in economics, inequality and poverty measurement, and development studies, paying particular attention to Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum's collaborative work on the capability approach in normative economics, social ethics and political philosophy. Through a critical discussion of Sen and Nussbaum's literature, the book develops a unified vision of the capability approach embodied in the ideal of creating the greatest possible condition for the realization of basic capabilities for all and assesses it as a political theory arguing that capabilities are necessary but not sufficient for overcoming conditions of domination. |
Contents
Rethinking Rawlsian Justice | 31 |
Towards a Capability Theory of Justice | 53 |
The Theory of Broad Consequentialism | 81 |
The Question of Individual Responsibility | 105 |
Aristotle and Nussbaums Hybrid Theory of Capabilities | 125 |
Which Freedom? What Sort of Public Reasoning? | 147 |
| 171 | |
Other editions - View all
Capabilities and Social Justice: The Political Philosophy of Amartya Sen and ... John M. Alexander No preview available - 2016 |
Common terms and phrases
able achieve actions advantage advocates agent Aristotle Aristotle's basic capabilities basis capability approach capability theorists capacity Chapter choice citizens claims compassion conception concerned consequences considered context contrast cooperation criticism democracy dependency discussion distinction distribution Dworkin economic effective entitlements equality ethical example exercise fact fair famines freedom functionings give goals hand happiness human idea important income individual institutions interests interference involved issues lead liberal liberties lives means moral nature Nussbaum objective opportunities participation particularly people's person philosophical points policies political positive possible preferences primary principles promote public reasoning question Rawls Rawls's theory realize reasoning regard require respect responsibility role seems Sen's sense situation social justice society suggests theory things traditional turn understanding utilitarianism valuable values welfare well-being