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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capability approach | 7/8 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capability_approach | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T15:26:13.523216+00:00 | kb-cron |
=== Utility-based or subjective approaches === Much of conventional welfare economics today is grounded in a utilitarian approach according to the classical Benthamite form of utilitarianism, in which the most desirable action is the one that best increases peoples' psychological happiness or satisfaction. The "utility" of a person stands for some measure of his or her pleasure or happiness. Some merits associated with this approach to measuring well-being are that it recognizes the importance of taking account of the results of social arrangements in judging them and the need to pay attention to the well-being of the people involved when judging social arrangements and their results. Amartya Sen, however, argues this view has three main deficiencies: distributional indifference; neglect of rights, freedoms, and other non-utility concerns; and adaptation and mental conditioning. Distributional indifference refers to a utilitarian indifference between different the distributions of utility, so long as the sum total is the same (note that the utilitarian is indifferent to the distribution of happiness, not income or wealth—the utilitarian approach would generally prefer, all else being equal, more materially equal societies assuming diminishing marginal utility). Sen argues that we may "want to pay attention not just to "aggregate" magnitudes, but also to extents of inequalities in happiness". Sen also argues that while the utilitarian approach attaches no intrinsic value (ethics) to claims of rights and freedoms, some people value these things independently of their contribution to utility. Lastly, Amartya Sen makes the argument that the utilitarian view of individual well-being can be easily swayed by mental conditioning and peoples' happiness adapting to oppressive situations. The utility calculus can essentially be unfair to those who have come to terms with their deprivation as a means for survival, adjusting their desires and expectations. The capability approach, on the other hand, doesn't fall victim to these same criticisms because it acknowledges inequalities by focusing on equalizing people's capabilities, rather than happiness. It stresses the intrinsic importance of rights and freedoms when evaluating well-being, and it avoids overlooking deprivation by focusing on capabilities and opportunities, not state of mind.
=== Resource-based approaches === Another common approach in conventional economics, in economic policy and judging development, has traditionally been to focus on income and resources. These sorts of approaches to development focus on increasing resources, such as assets, property rights, or basic needs. However, measuring resources is fundamentally different from measuring functionings, such as the case in which people don't have the capability to use their resources in the means they see fit. Arguably, the main difficulty in a resource- or income-based approach to well-being lies in personal heterogeneities, namely the diversity of human beings. Different amounts of income are needed for different individuals to enjoy similar capabilities, such as an individual with severe disabilities whose treatment to ensure the fulfillment of basic capabilities may require dramatically more income compared to an able-bodied person. All sorts of differences, such as differences in age, gender, talents, etc. can make two people have extremely divergent opportunities of quality of life, even when equipped with exactly the same commodities. Additionally, other contingent circumstances which affect what an individual can make of a given set of resources include environmental diversities (in geographic sense), variations in social climate, differences in relational perspectives, and distribution within the family. The capability approach, however, seeks to consider all such circumstances when evaluating people's actual capabilities. Furthermore, there are things people value other than increased resources. In some cases, maximizing resources may even be objectionable. As was recognized in the 1990 Human Development Report, the basic objective of development is to create an enabling environment for people to live long, healthy, and creative lives. This end is often lost in the immediate concern with the accumulation of commodities and financial wealth that are only a means to expansion of capabilities. Overall, though resources and income have a profound effect on what can or cannot be done, the capability approach recognizes that they are not the only things to be considered when judging well-being, switching the focus from a means to a good life to the freedom to achieve actual improvements in lives, which one has reason to value.
== Application to education == The capability approach has also impacted educational discourse. Rather than seeing the success of an education system based on the measurable achievements of students, such as scores in examinations or assessments, educational success through a capabilities perspective can be seen through the capabilities that such an education enables. Through an education programme a student is able to acquire knowledge, skills, values and understanding and this enables a young person to think in new ways, to ‘be’, to develop agency in society and make decisions. These are not easily ‘measurable’ in the same way examination results are, but can be seen to be an important outcome of an educational programme. A number of writers have explored what these education ‘capabilities’ might be. Terzi's list focuses on the minimum entitlement of education for students with disabilities—these include Literacy, Numeracy, Sociality and Participation among others. Walker, working in Higher Education offers Practical Reason, Emotional Resilience, Knowledge and imagination. Hinchcliffe offers a set of capabilities for students of Humanities subjects, including critical examination and judgement, narrative imagination, recognition/ concern for others (citizenship in a globalised world). Further exploration of the capability approach to education has sought to explore the role that subject disciplines play in the generation of subject specific capabilities, drawing on the ideas of Powerful Knowledge from Michael Young and the Sociology of Education. Geography as a school subject has explored these as ‘GeoCapabilities’.
== See also ==
== References ==