DEVELOPMENT AS

CAPABILITY EXPANSION
- Amartya Sen
 Introduction
• Sen talks about the idea that we should treat people as important in
themselves, not just as a way to get things done.
• This is especially relevant when planning for progress and development.
• People are essential to making progress happen, but sometimes we focus
too much on making money and growing the economy, forgetting that the
real goal should be to improve people's lives.
• Just having a high income or economic growth doesn't guarantee a good
life for everyone.
• Amartya Sen, suggests that we should see economic growth as a means to
improve people's lives, not an end in itself.
• To do this effectively, we need to clearly identify the goals that truly
matter for human well-being.
 The Capability Approach: Conceptual Roots
• Amartya Sen has discussed a way of evaluating social change based
on the richness of human life it brings.
• This approach, called the "capability approach”.
• This approach sees human life as a collection of things people can do
and be, which are referred to as "functionings."
• This approach has its roots in the ideas of Aristotle, Adam Smith, and
Karl Marx.
• The capability approach is about valuing activities and abilities that
make life better, not just focusing on money and material things.
 Commodities, Functionings and Capability
• Sen discussed how to measure the quality of life by looking at the things
people can do and be, called "functionings."
• It's about valuing these abilities and achievements, not just focusing on
money or material possessions.
• The goal is to assess the importance of various functionings in a person's
life and evaluate their capability to achieve them.
• The idea is that life consists of different functionings, which are like the
active parts of a person's being.
• These can range from basic needs like health and nutrition to more complex things
like self-respect and participation in the community.
• Evaluating someone's well-being means considering all these elements.
 Commodities, Functionings and Capability

• The concept of "capability" comes from the combination of different

functionings a person can achieve.
• It represents a person's freedom to choose how they live.
• The focus is on giving individuals control over their lives rather than being
dominated by circumstances or chance.
• In simple terms, Amarty Sen suggests evaluating the quality of life
based on what people can do and achieve, not just their material
possessions.
• This gives individuals the freedom to live the life they want.
 Utilitarian Calculus v/s Objective Deprivation
• The capability approach can be contrasted not merely with commodity-based systems of
evaluation, but also with the utility-based assessment. The utilitarian notion of value, which is
invoked explicitly or by implication in much of welfare economics, sees value, ultimately, only in
individual utility, which is defined in terms of some mental condition, such as pleasure, happiness,
desire-fulfilment. This subjectivist perspective has been extensively used, but it can be very
misleading, since it may fail to reflect a person’s real deprivation.
• A thoroughly deprived person leading a very reduced life, might not appear to be badly off in
terms of the mental metric of utility, if the hardship is accepted with non grumbling resignation.
In situations of long-standing deprivation, the victims do not go on weeping all the time, and very
often make great efforts to take pleasure in small mercies and to cut down personal desires to
modest–”realistic”–proportions. The person’s deprivation, then, may not at all show up in the
metrics of pleasure, desire fulfilment etc., even though he or she may be quite unable to be
adequately nourished, decently clothed, minimally educated and so on.
• This issue, apart from its foundational relevance, may have some immediate bearing on practical
public policy. Smugness about continued deprivation and vulnerability is often made to look
justified on grounds of lack of strong public demand and forcefully expressed desire for removing
these impediments.
 Ambiguities, Precision and Relevance
• The capability approach has some uncertainties and imprecisions due to the
complex nature of human life and freedom.
• These uncertainties also affect the definition of capability.
• It is important not to ignore these ambiguities but to acknowledge them in our
understanding.
• When describing functionings (what people can do and be), there is room for
choices and different perspectives.
• Some functionings may be easy to describe but not relevant in a particular
context.
• Selecting which functionings are important involves evaluation based on social
concerns and values.
• This process of selection is not a problem unique to the capability approach.
 Quality of Life, Basic Needs and Capability
• Sen discussed the importance of valuing quality of life and fulfilling basic needs
in development economics.
• While these aspects have been largely ignored in traditional welfare economics,
which tends to rely on utilitarian evaluation.
• The capability approach is presented as a better alternative as it views human
life as a combination of functionings and capabilities, emphasizing human
freedom as a central aspect.
• The "basic needs" literature has faced challenges in precisely defining basic
needs, often focusing on essential commodities like food, clothing, and shelter.
• However, this commodity-centric approach is limited since it fails to consider the
variability in converting commodities into capabilities.
• The capability approach provides a more comprehensive and grounded
foundation for evaluating well-being.
 Rawls, Primary Goods and Freedoms
• Sen discussed the difference between the capability approach and John Rawls'
theory of justice, particularly the concept of "primary goods."
• In Rawls' theory, the focus is on interpersonal comparisons of people's holdings
of primary goods, which are means to achieve what individuals want to achieve.
• These primary goods include income, wealth, basic liberties, and social bases of
self-respect.
• However, Rawls' approach overlooks the variability in people's ability to convert
these primary goods into actual achievements or freedoms, making it difficult to
accurately compare their real freedoms to pursue different ends.
• On the other hand, the capability approach values freedoms themselves and
provides a better account of the actual freedoms enjoyed by individuals.
• It emphasizes the importance of evaluating people's capabilities to achieve
their goals rather than just looking at their holdings of means (e.g., commodities
or income).
 Freedom, Capability and Data Limitations
• Sen talks about two ways of looking at freedom:
• Intrinsic view: This means valuing the freedom to have choices itself, not just what choices
are made. So, having the opportunity to choose different things is seen as valuable.
• Instrumental view: Here, freedom is only valuable because it helps us achieve things we
want. It's like a tool to reach our goals.
• The capability approach considers both of these views.
• When we look at what people have achieved in life (like living longer, being
healthy, etc.), it shows us some of their freedoms and what they were able to do.
• But sometimes, we can't see all the choices they had or the freedoms they didn't
use.
• For example, living longer can be both an achievement and a sign of greater
freedom, because if someone values living longer and chooses to live longer, it
shows they had the freedom to make that choice.
 Freedom, Capability and Data Limitations
• The capability approach helps us understand both what people achieve and
the freedom they have to make choices.
• Even though we might not always see all the choices they had, the
approach still gives us a good idea of their overall well-being and the value
of their freedom.
• The capability approach considers both achieved states and freedom.
• Achieved states are easier to observe, but the data limitations make it
challenging to know all the choices people could have made but didn't.
• Despite this, the approach still helps understand people's well-being and
the value of their freedom.
 Inequality, Class and Gender
• Sen discussed how the approach to evaluate the well-being and advantage affects the
assessment of efficiency and inequality.
• Efficiency is about overall improvements, and the chosen measure of individual
advantage determines what is considered efficient.
• For example, A situation is efficient if and only if there is no alternative feasible situation
in which someone’s position is better and no one’s worse
• If it is defined in terms of utility then this criterion of efficiency is called "Pareto
optimality."
• Inequality measures often focus on income or wealth, but using measures related to
people's quality of life can be more relevant.
• In terms of gender differences, it's challenging to find the best indicator of advantage for
assessing inequalities between women and men.
• Utility-based evaluation can be limiting because unequal treatment within families may
be accepted as normal, affecting perceptions of well-being.
 Inequality, Class and Gender
• Commodity-based evaluations are inadequate because they only focus on
means to well-being and freedom, not the actual lives people can lead.
• Additionally, it's hard to get data on how commodities are divided between
genders within families.
• However, using the capability approach, which considers people's
functioning and freedoms, can be more insightful in assessing gender
inequalities.
• It avoids subjectivism, provides better information about inequalities
within families, and helps understand disparities between women and men
in areas like survival, health, and literacy rates.
• The capability approach is a useful tool to study gender inequality, which is
a significant issue worldwide.
• Amartya Sen Interview (1999) https://youtu.be/-6A7k6peWRM
 Conclusion
• The paper discusses the capability approach as a valuable tool for evaluating human
development. This approach focuses on human achievement and freedom, considering
the importance of individual capabilities and the freedom to choose different ways of
life. It emphasizes the need for a pluralistic view of development, taking into account
various aspects such as education, health, and social participation.
• The paper highlights the significance of education in promoting capabilities, including
productivity, income distribution, and the ability to lead fulfilling lives. It also points out
the interconnections between different areas of development, like how good health
affects productivity and living standards.
• The central challenge of human development is to enhance valuable freedoms and
capabilities, enabling people to lead better lives. Proper evaluation of our human values
is crucial in facing this challenge and making informed decisions for social change.
• In summary, the paper advocates for the capability approach to assess human
development, focusing on achievements, freedoms, and the importance of individual
capabilities in improving people's lives and well-being.