The Capability Approach And the Praxis of

The book argues that, when the capability approach becomes a guide for development praxis, the central role that it gives to individual freedom in promoting development would need to be re-examined. The book aims to provide an alternative to a conception of development based solely on human freedom, and introduces structural, political and historical considerations. Arguments are documented with case studies from Central America and the Caribbean.

Séverine Deneulin is a Lecturer in International Development at the University of Bath, UK. She holds a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford, and a MA in Economics from the Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.

List of Tables

vii

Preface and Acknowledgements

ix

Development as Freedom

1

(17)

Human well-being and freedom

3

(5)

The freedoms of individuals

8

(2)

Agency and political participation

10

(2)

From development theory to praxis

12

(6)

Human Well-Being and Freedom

18

(36)

Well-being as freedom

19

(13)

Perfectionism and liberalism

19

(3)

Perfectionism in the capability approach

22

(5)

Freedom and choice

27

(5)

Central human capabilities

32

(12)

A thick vague theory of the good

32

(6)

A political form of liberalism

38

(6)

Well-being and development praxis

44

(10)

The dimension option

44

(4)

The pragmatic option

48

(6)

Freedom within Structures of Living Together

54

(33)

Structures of living together

55

(12)

Irreducibly social goods

55

(2)

Expanding the evaluation space

57

(5)

Valuation structures

62

(5)

Socio-historical agency

67

(9)

The sources of freedom and agency

67

(5)

Individual and collective agency

72

(4)

Motivations and structures of mutual concern

76

(11)

Self-interest

76

(3)

Social norms and identity

79

(1)

Friendship and mutual concern

80

(4)

Implications for development praxis

84

(3)

Political Freedom and Practical Reason

87

(31)

Exercising political freedom

88

(10)

Participation and democracy

88

(2)

The value of political freedom

90

(4)

Political and market freedom

94

(4)

Practical reason in the political community

98

(9)

Forms of practical reasoning

98

(2)

Deliberative democracy

100

(7)

Principles of decision-making

107

(11)

Finnis and Nussbaum on practical reasoning

107

(2)

Perception of particulars

109

(3)

Deliberation about ends and means

112

(3)

Beyond the capability space

115

(3)

From Development Theory to Practice

118

(22)

Development theory and practice

119

(2)

Two case studies

121

(13)

A hermeneutical approach to development

134

(6)

The Costa Rican Human Development Story

140

(35)

Universal primary education

141

(5)

The creation and expansion of the welfare state

146

(9)

The crisis of the 1980s

155

(7)

Costa Rica's socio-historical agency

162

(13)

The National Consultation

165

(2)

The Combo del ICE

167

(2)

The fiscal problem

169

(6)

The Dominican Republic's Narrative

175

(35)

The emergence of the dictatorship

177

(7)

The difficult transition to democracy

184

(5)

The legacy of the dialectical process

189

(7)

The Dominican Republic's socio-historical agency

196

(11)

The Comprehensive Development Framework

199

(2)

Cases of social reform

201

(4)

The Social Security Reform

205

(2)

Implications for the capability approach

207

(3)

Conclusion: The Capability Approach and the Praxis of Development

210

(4)

Notes

214

(11)

Bibliography

225

(12)

Index

237

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The Capability Approach And the Praxis of Development

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials