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Introduction :-
Capbility approach has been developed by Indian Nobel Lureate Amartya Sen. Capability theory has emerged as a serious alternative model of progress and development. Rather than goods and resources (the inputs), the focus of Sen’s capability approach is people and their capabilities (the end-results). It also provides an alternative perspective on issues like poverty, inequality, gender bias, and social exclusion that are hardly touched by the economic perspective.
Rather than talking of some theoretical equality of people or seeing them in terms of numbers, the capability approach explicitly recognizes the differences among individuals. It also accepts that people’s abilities are affected by external factors coming from interaction with other people, social arrangements, access to infrastructure and public services, discriminations, opportunities to participate in social and political activities, freedom to speak and influence state policies.
Historical Background :-
The origin of the idea of functionings and capability can be traced back to Aristotle in the 4th century BC. In Politics, while discussing the idea of the “best political arrangement,” Aristotle argued that the aim of political planning is the distribution of the conditions for a good life to the people in the city.He asserted that a good life is one in which a person can function not only in the biological sense but also by exercising choice and reason.
Thinkers like Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill also gave similar ideas of good human life.
Marx and Engels described a commendable human life as not only one in which the person’s material needs are satisfied, but also as one in which people are able to use reason,
Amartya Sen’s reasoning along such lines crystallized in the form of the capability approach of development.
Capability approach of development :-
Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach revolves around people as human being and sees development as expansion of their capabilities – it is an enabling preposition. It aims to enhance people’s well-being by expanding their capabilities which is connected to freedom of choices,
People may get deprived of such capabilities in several ways; for example, ignorance, oppressive state policies, lack of financial resources, ill health, lack of proper education, sudden accidents and so on,
The scope of this approach is quite vast; all factors that can potentially affect people’s capabilities are relevant for consideration. Included in the domain of capability theory are all possible factors – social and political processes, gender, inequality, social exclusion, disability, environmental conditions, personal and psychological factors – that can possibly influence human capabilities, the prime measure of human well-being. In this sense, it is a complete human development model. The capability approach focuses on two things, freedoms to achieve and the capabilities to function.
Poverty Reduction vs Economic Growth :-
The fact that higher per capita GDP does not automatically translate into lowered poverty, is clearly observed in the development status of different states of India. Kerala is a unique state in India; it has only a moderately developed economy but has achieved significant poverty reduction.
It did so through the expansion of basic education, healthcare facilities and equitable land distribution to counter poverty. In comparison, Punjab with much higher per capita GDP also has higher poverty. Therefore, people’s well-being is not directly related with economic growth.
Human well-being depends upon several things other than wealth or income. A country obsessed with GDP growth alone may not provide basic infrastructure of education, healthcare, housing, transport, clean drinking water, sanitation and so on.
Today, it is a proven fact that economic growth inherently favors the rich and hence wealth gets increasingly concentrated in few hands. It means rising inequalities, which leads to social exclusion of the poor class. Social exclusion is a not only a present concern, but also has future consequences. It works to sustain and promote poverty.
A rich country can only eliminate poverty if it frames policies that focus on increasing people’s capabilities, in place of the fetish for GDP growth.
By: Shashank Shekhar ProfileResourcesReport error
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