Introduction

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Brian Langille
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Relevant Dimension ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
The Capability Approach

Forty years ago, Amartya Sen delivered his Tanner Lecture, ‘Equality of What?’, in which he introduced to the world a novel approach to the idea of equality by way of the notion of ‘basic capability’ as ‘a morally relevant dimension’.1 We can now see with hindsight that Sen’s argument—that we should focus upon equality of basic capabilities (‘a person being able to do certain basic things’)—launched what has become an academic armada now proceeding under the flag of ‘the Capability Approach’....

scholarly journals To thrive in these times: capabilities, negativity, and the pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-17
Author(s):  
Edward Ryan Teather-Posadas
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Martha Nussbaum ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Bare Life ◽  
Slavoj Zizek ◽  
Slavoj Žižek ◽  
The World ◽  
The Capability Approach

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare many of the inadequacies of our capitalist systems, as Zizek extols in Pandemic! COVID-19 Shakes the World (2020). This essay explores how the capabilities approach, as outlined by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, may be re-examined in the light of this new viral reality by the contributions of Slavoj Zizek and Byung-Chul Han. The capability approach, as it stands, suffers from two missing pieces: that of an acknowledgement of the necessity of negativity as a foil to positivity within the capabilities as articulated by Nussbaum, and the existence of the material root of all capabilities, namely the need to have the capacity to be capable. A "capability for boredom", and a "zeroth capability" are discussed as solutions, means by which to fill these gaps. Finally, an universal basic income is discussed as a means by which to support the functioning of a "zeroth capability", the goal being to avoid a descent into bare life during this time of pandemic capitalism. Teather-Posadas E.R. To thrive in these times: capabilities, negativity, and the pandemic // International Journal of Zizek Stu-dies. 2021. Vol. 15. №1.

scholarly journals The capabilities and human rights of high performance athletes

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Adams ◽  
Emma Kavanagh
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Precise Analysis ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Capability Approach

High performance athletes participate and function in sports systems where exploitative behaviours may become manifest. These behaviours potentially violate an individual athlete’s human rights. Using the Capability Approach first outlined by Amartya Sen the paper details how a more precise analysis of human rights, in the context of high performance sport, may be achieved. Using in-depth narrative accounts from high performance athletes, data illustrate how athlete maltreatment is related to individual capabilities and functionings: the loss of individual freedoms infringes accepted notions of human rights. The implications for practice concern how human rights may be protected within and for systems of high performance production.

Well-Being, Adaptation and Human Limitations*

2006 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 83-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mozaffar Qizilbash
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Martha Nussbaum ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Reliable Basis ◽  
The Capability Approach

Philosophical accounts of human well-being face a number of significant challenges. In this paper, I shall be primarily concerned with one of these. It relates to the possibility, noted by Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen amongst others, that people’s desires and attitudes are malleable and can ‘adapt’ in various ways to the straitened circumstances in which they live. If attitudes or desires adapt in this way it can be argued that the relevant desires or attitudes fail to provide a reliable basis for evaluating well-being. This is, what I shall call the ‘adaptation problem’. Nussbaum and Sen have—in different ways used this argument to motivate their versions of the ‘capability approach’. However, questions remain about the implications of adaptation for philosophical accounts of well-being.

Approccio delle capacitŕ e sociologia economica: un matrimonio vincente per lo studio delle politiche

2009 ◽  
pp. 66-79
Author(s):  
Gianluca Busilacchi
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Economic Sociology ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Social Scientist ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Empirical Level ◽  
The Capability Approach

- Over the last year the capability approach has been widely used by social scientist. Its success is mainly due to the richness of its theoretical framework and the possibility to enrich the interdisciplinary researches also at the empirical level. However the empirical applications in the field of public policy, especially social policy, are still very limited: what is the reason? And which is the role of economic sociology in contributing to the analysis of social policy endorsing the capability approach? The first part of the paper concerns the explanation of the theoretical framework of the capability approach, through an analysis of its main concepts and empirical applications. Then we will try to see why the capability approach can be especially used by economic sociology, and why this social science can be enriched by the capability approach to analyse social policy with a richer toolbox.Keywords: social policy, capability approach, economic sociology, public policy, Amartya Sen, poverty

Capability Deprivation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rod Hick ◽  
Tania Burchardt
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Current State ◽  
Capability Deprivation ◽  
Key Questions ◽  
The Capability Approach

This article examines capability deprivation as the basis for analyzing poverty. The capability approach, developed initially by Amartya Sen, questions the “informational space” on which considerations of poverty, inequality, justice, and so forth, should be based. According to the capability approach, the appropriate “space” for analyzing poverty is not what people have, nor how they feel, but what they can do and be. After providing an overview of the concepts that comprise the capability approach, this article discusses three key questions within the literature regarding the nature of the approach, namely: the question of functioning and/or capabilities, the question of a capability list, and the question of aggregation. It also describes some prominent empirical applications that have been inspired by the capability approach and concludes with an assessment of the current state-of-the-art literature on the capability approach.

scholarly journals Enabling Participation Income for an Eco-Social State

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Francesco Laruffa ◽  
Michael McGann ◽  
Mary P. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social State ◽  
Economic Production ◽  
The World ◽  
Key Questions ◽  
The Capability Approach

We revise Atkinson’s concept of a ‘participation income’ (PI), repositioning it as a form of green conditional basic income that is anchored in a capabilities-oriented eco-social policy framework. This framework combines the capability approach with an ‘ethics of care’ to re-shape the focus of social policy on individuals’ capability to ‘take care of the world’, thus shifting the emphasis from economic production to social reproduction and environmental reparation. In developing this proposal, we seek to address key questions about the feasibility of implementing PI schemes: including their administrative complexity and the criticism that a PI constitutes either an arbitrary and confusing, or invasive and stigmatising, form of basic income. To address these concerns, we argue for an enabling approach to incentivising participation whereby participation pathways are co-created with citizens on the basis of opportunities they recognise as meaningful rather than enforced through strict monitoring and sanctions.

Global inequities and healthcare disparities: can they be eliminated ethically?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hengameh Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
John Rawls ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Healthcare Disparities ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Free Banking ◽  
Grameen Bank ◽  
Ethical Theories ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Capability Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to comprehensively explore and propose solutions to global economic inequities and disparities, with a particular focus on healthcare. This paper also aims to explore whether drastic reductions of inequality are justified in terms of conventional economic theory, and whether ending inequality can be viewed as ethical through certain lenses. Design/methodology/approach To seek the response to those questions, the paper uses Pareto optimality; Hicks–Kaldor model; Millian utilitarianism; the ethical theories developed by John Rawls in his 1971 work on ethics as well as his 1999 Law of People; and the capability approach developed by Noble Laureate economists Amartya Sen. As demonstrated, those equalizing works cannot support a policy that would advocate an end to global inequities. Those theories also propose no practical solutions for the end of those extreme inequities. Thus, the paper attempts to present other solutions. Findings This paper discusses two theories that are very helpful in supporting those without much wealth. Mohammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank and its provision of small free-interest loans to poor businesses (in particular women) in Bangladesh has been very successful. Another alternative advocating interest-free banking that was proposed by the proponents of binary economics is discussed. Originality/value The author believes the arguments used to support the theses of this paper be unique and novel.

Duurzame inzetbaarheid bij oudere werknemers, werk als waarde

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jac J.L van der Klink ◽  
Ute Bültmann ◽  
Sandra Brouwer ◽  
Alex Burdorf ◽  
Wilmar B. Schaufeli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Workers ◽  
Capability Approach ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Recent History ◽  
Amartya Sen ◽  
Demographic Trends ◽  
Sustainable Employability ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Oudere Werknemers ◽  
The Capability Approach

Sustainable employability in older workers, work as value Sustainable employability in older workers, work as value Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 24, November 2011, nr. 4, pp. 341-355.Because of demographic trends and social and societal developments sustainable employability is an important issue. As the workforce is ageing and workers will be asked to work longer in particular at the end of their careers, and as older workers have increased risks of health problems, much attention is paid to the older worker.This article joins a number of recent definitions of sustainable employability where the value aspect of work is emphasized: work must add value for the organization as well as for the employee to be sustainable.In recent history work and the valuation of work changed considerably. In this article recent developments in work and work models will be addressed briefly and work as a valuable domain of life will be discussed in relation to sustainable employability and the capability approach of Amartya Sen.

scholarly journals From Handmaidens to POSH Humanitarians: The Case for Making Human Capabilities the Business of I-O Psychology

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Gloss ◽  
Stuart C. Carr ◽  
Walter Reichman ◽  
Inusah Abdul-Nasiru ◽  
W. Trevor Oestereich
Keyword(s):  
Capability Approach ◽  
Multidimensional Poverty ◽  
Moral Justification ◽  
Moral Imperative ◽  
Human Capabilities ◽  
Formal Economy ◽  
Recent Commentary ◽  
Relative Safety ◽  
The World ◽  
The Capability Approach

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology has begun to shed its reputation as a handmaiden to corporate and managerial interests, in part, through its engagement with humanitarian concerns. However, as highlighted by recent commentary, I-O psychology still has a decidedly POSH perspective on the world; that is, it has focused on Professionals who hold Official jobs in a formal economy and who enjoy relative Safety from discrimination while also living in High-income countries. This POSH perspective reflects an underlying bias away from people living in multidimensional poverty. We empirically illustrate some of the connections between a POSH perspective and poverty by reviewing 100 years of research in I-O psychology, and then we make a case for why a neglect of people living in poverty undermines the discipline's science, its practice, and its humanist charge. As moral justification for greater engagement with humanitarian concerns and as a guide to navigate the difficult ethical quandaries involved in doing so, we suggest that I-O psychologists should consider the capability approach. We discuss the concept of human capabilities, relate it to I-O psychology, and demonstrate its utility in the form of three hypothetical scenarios. Perhaps our most controversial claim is that there is a moral imperative for I-O psychology to overrepresent people living in the deepest forms of poverty in both its science and practice.

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