The capabilities approach
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Question
The capabilities approach?
Answer
Judging a society by what each person is actually able to do and be, rather than by its total or average wealth.
Question
Why does Nussbaum reject wealth as the measure?
Answer
An average can rise while many stay poor, sick or unfree — wealth is only a means to a decent life, not the goal.
Question
'Each person as an end'?
Answer
Every individual's life counts in its own right; you never average a person away for a group total.
Question
Is the capabilities approach about money?
Answer
Only indirectly — money is a tool; what counts is what people are actually able to do and be with it.
Question
The 'rich average, poor people' example?
Answer
A country's average income can boom while many still can't read, get clean water or feel safe — so the average hides them.
Question
What question does the approach always ask?
Answer
Not 'how rich is this place?' but 'what is each person here actually able to do and to be?'
Question
Whose principle does Nussbaum build on?
Answer
Kant's — 'treat each person as an end, never merely as a means' — scaled up into a test for a whole society.
Question
What makes a society good for Nussbaum?
Answer
One where each individual person is genuinely able to live a decent human life — not just a high average.
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Topic 10.6 hub
Creating Capabilities — Nussbaum
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