The capability approach and the politics of social wellbeing

Séverine Deneulin, Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath; and,
J. Allister McGregor, Institute of Development Studies at Sussex

Abstract

The paper discusses the potential and pitfalls of Sen's capability approach. It discusses areas where the capability approach has made a significant contribution to the social sciences. However, the paper argues that the approach fails to take into account the which we know what we value and judge how satisfied we feel about what we are able to achieve. From this viewpoint a person's state of wellbeing (or illbeing) is socially and psychologically co-constituted in specific social and cultural contexts. This entails that the reality of trade-offs between competing conceptions of wellbeing has to be confronted, and that therefore such social conception of wellbeing is also profoundly political.

Full Paper (pdf)