What should social welfare seek to achieve? Applying the capability approach

In this paper I introduce the capability approach (Nussbaum, Sen) for a social welfare practice audience. The approach is described as a normative theory underpinned by the proposal that social welfare actions should be evaluated on the basis of how capable people are of living lives they have reason to value. By summarising Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities account and describing the practical logic of capability theory, I propose potential...