Advancing Human Development: Values, groups, power and conflict

Séverine Deneulin

The question of values is central to the human development and capability
approach. Yet, the capability literature says little about where values
come from, how they are shaped and change. Exploring the dynamics of value
formation and change is critical to advancing human development, for
different sets of values lead to different sets of policies, and hence
different capability outcomes. The paper argues that the human development
and capability approach needs to pay greater attention to the different
groups which construct the value frameworks from which people derive their
values. This requires a more critical analysis of the power dynamics
between groups. The paper proposes some analytical tools to examine the
dynamics of value formation and its influence on policy. It concludes by
discussing some ways in which the kinds of values which are necessary for
advancing human development can be nurtured.

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