Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice The Capability Approach Re-Examined, 2017a
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice The Capability Approach Re-Examined, 2017a
Wellbeing, Freedom and Social Justice The Capability Approach Re-Examined, 2017a
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36 <strong>Wellbeing</strong>, <strong>Freedom</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Social</strong> <strong>Justice</strong><br />
<br />
It is time to take stock. What do we already know about the capability<br />
approach, <strong>and</strong> what questions are raised by the analysis so far?<br />
<strong>The</strong> capability approach is an open approach, <strong>and</strong> depending on<br />
its purpose can be developed into a range of capability theories or<br />
capabilitarian applications. It is focused on what people can do <strong>and</strong><br />
be (their capabilities) <strong>and</strong> on what they are actually achieving in terms<br />
of beings <strong>and</strong> doings (their functionings). However, this still does<br />
not answer the question of what kind of framework the capability<br />
approach is. Can we give an account of a capability theory that is more<br />
enlightening regarding what exactly makes a theory a capabilitarian<br />
theory, <strong>and</strong> what doesn’t?<br />
In this book, I present an account of the capability approach that,<br />
on the one h<strong>and</strong>, makes clear what all capability theories share, yet on<br />
the other h<strong>and</strong> allows us to better underst<strong>and</strong> the many forms that a<br />
capability theory or capability account can take — hence to appreciate<br />
the diversity within the capability approach more fully. <strong>The</strong> modular<br />
view that I present here is a modified (<strong>and</strong>, I hope, improved) version<br />
of the cartwheel model that I have developed elsewhere (Robeyns<br />
2016b). <strong>The</strong> modular view shifts the focus a little bit from the question<br />
of how to underst<strong>and</strong> the capability approach in general, to the<br />
question of how the various capability accounts, applications <strong>and</strong><br />
theories should be understood <strong>and</strong> how they should be constructed.<br />
After all, students, scholars, policy makers <strong>and</strong> activists are often not<br />
concerned with the capability approach in general, but rather want to<br />
know whether it would be a smart idea to use the capability approach<br />
to construct a particular capability theory, application or account for<br />
the problem or question they are trying to analyse. In order to answer<br />
the question of whether, for their purposes, the capability approach is<br />
a helpful framework to consider, they need to know what is needed<br />
for a capability theory, application or account. <strong>The</strong> modular view that<br />
will follow will give those who want to develop a capability theory,<br />
application or analysis a list of properties their theory has to meet,<br />
a list of choices that need to be made but in which several options<br />
regarding content are possible, <strong>and</strong> a list of modules that they could<br />
take into account, but which will not always be necessary.