RT Article
T1 Capabilities versus Resources
JF Journal of moral philosophy
VO 12
IS 2
SP 151
OP 171
A1 Kelleher, J. Paul
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2015
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1817471414
AB What is the correct metric of distributive justice? Proponents of the capability approach claim that distributive metrics should be articulated in terms of individuals’ effective abilities to achieve important and worthwhile goals. Defenders of resourcism, by contrast, maintain that metrics should instead focus on the distribution of external resources. This debate is now more than three decades old, and it has produced a vast and still growing literature. The present paper aims to provide a fresh perspective on this protracted debate. It does so by defending capability metrics while also (1) criticizing the two most common arguments used to support them, and (2) sympathetically reconstructing the arguments for resourcism. I ultimately argue that while sweeping defenses of the capability approach do not succeed, capability theorists can indeed vindicate the justice-relevance of certain capabilities while still accommodating what is plausible in resourcism.
K1 Pogge
K1 Sen
K1 Distributive Justice
K1 metrics of justice
K1 Resources
K1 Capabilities
DO 10.1163/17455243-4681031