Public Reason 10 (1): 49-68

© 2018 by Public Reason

Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

Jens Peter Brune

University of Greifswald

Abstract: Despite the exceptional growth of interest in the Capability Approach (CA) in specific fields of application, the approach has yet to clarify certain basic concepts, such as freedom, functioning, and, in particular, its key concept of capability. (1.) Taking two basic tenets of CA as my starting point, I would first of all like to (2.) contribute to the clarification of these central concepts. It thereby becomes apparent that “capability” is, on the one hand, an essential y hybrid concept with both an internal and external aspect. On the other hand, it addresses the freedom of choice between various lifestyles as a second-order competency.

(3.) Against this background, this paper offers a suggestion to correct the terminology used by Martha C. Nussbaum in her concept of capability, and subsequently it will outline a basic model of the transformation of resources into forms of being and activities with reference to Ingrid Robeyns. In conclusion I will couple this rather static perspective with two critical points: (4.) First of al , a more dynamic view reveals hitherto barely considered aspects of freedom in everyday human lives. (5.) Secondly, the idea of capabilities opposes the attempt at a separation of capabilities from functions in order to avoid paternalism, as suggested by Nussbaum.

Key words: capabilities, functionings, substantial freedom, 2nd order competence, paternalism.

I. TWO CENTR AL IDEAS OF CA

Over the past 30 years, the Capability Approach (CA) has evolved into a reference

framework for diverse and interdisciplinary areas of research. It has been applied in

the fields of welfare economics, developmental policy, gender studies, and educational

research. It has proved especial y fertile in the area of poverty research and has been put to use in various countries and regions.1 In terms of philosophical discourse, CA rivals other theories of justice, is acknowledged in specific spheres of ethics, such as economic and environmental ethics, and has also been raised the debate on animal ethics (Nussbaum

2004, 2006; Wissenburg 2011; Melin and Kronlid 2016). At the same time, its advocates,

who I shall henceforth refer to as “capabilitarians”, adopting the term used by Ingrid

Robeyns (2016) in the title of one of her essays, admit that despite the conceptual

resources at its disposal, CA has yet to develop a comprehensive theory of justice. This has resulted in a longstanding debate as to whether it is even a uniform approach and, if so, what are its basic defining elements (cf. Crocker 2008, 55; Nussbaum 2011a, 18-19;

Robeyns 2016 [2011]).

1] In addition to Amartya Sen’s early studies (Sen 1977, 1981) and his studies on India pub-lished together with Jean Drèze (Drèze und Sen 1997, 2002), here are just a few examples: Volkert (ed.

2005) and Arndt et al. (2006) on Germany, Krishnakumar and Ballon (2008) on Bolivia, Panzironi and Gelber (2012) on the Asia-Pacific region, and Vollmer (2013) for Mozambique. Additional case studies can be found in Deneulin, Nebel, and Sagovsky (2006), Ibrahim and Tiwari (2014), as well as Otto, Walker, and Ziegler (2018).

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Nevertheless, we can discern two aspects that, when formulated in a sufficiently

generalized manner, clearly apply for all normative (ethical) sophisticated variants of CA. The first aspect focuses on the supposedly simple matter of what people actual y do with their lives and who they can be.2 The primary aim of this question is to analyze the conditions under which people have the opportunity to realize their particular conception of a good and flourishing lifestyle or individual well-being. The second key aspect is to frame the normative requirements, the actual social, political, and economic conditions, in such a way that all individuals have an equal opportunity to realize their conception of well-being or a good lifestyle, at least to a certain threshold level.3 This is the crucial chal enge faced by CA in establishing a theory of justice.

II. FUNCTIONINGS, CAPABILITIES AND FREEDOM

What individuals actual y do and who they are capable of becoming is general y

expressed in CA with the help of three central concepts: capability, functioning, and

freedom. In his 1993 essay, Capability and Wel -Being, Amartya Sen provides a preliminary answer to the question of what is meant by “functionings” and “capability,” as well as

how they are related. His answer is meant to serve as the starting point for a step-by-step expansion of the approach with the goal of achieving a basic model:

Functionings represent parts of the state of a person – in particular the various things that he or she manages to do or be in leading a life. The capability of a person reflects the alternative combinations of functionings the person can achieve, and from which

he or she can choose one col ection. (1993, 31)

Here, the term “functioning” stands for everything that a person actually does and has accomplished in their life. It stands for realized activities (“doings”) and states of affairs (“beings”). This last category includes such heterogeneous conditions as having health

insurance or not, being a citizen or being stateless, and being law abiding or a criminal.

Sen designates those activities and states of affairs that could be realized by a person at a particular point in time as an individual’s “capability” (in the singular form). It is comprised of the individual pool of attainment opportunities, thus an individual power or potential to realize various combinations of activities and states of affairs (cf. Robeyns 2017, 91-92). As the “ability to achieve” (Sen 1987, 36), capabilities are likewise regarded as positive freedoms:

2] “What are people actual y able to do and to be? What real opportunities are available to them?”

(Nussbaum 2011a, x; see Robeyns 2005, 94).

3] There is certainly no consensus among capabilitarians that the approach should focus on a threshold level, thereby accepting a sufficiency rule as a principle of distribution. This position is advocated to one degree or another by Anderson (1999, 2010) and Nussbaum (2006). Others, such as Arneson (2006), instead tend to support an egalitarian solution, while Robeyns (2016) does not exclude a prioritarian distribution principle along the lines of Rawls’ Difference Principle.

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Functionings are, in a sense, more directly related to living conditions, since they

are different aspects of living conditions. Capabilities, in contrast, are notions of

freedom, in the positive sense: what real opportunities you have regarding the life

you may lead. (Sen 1987, 36; cf. 1999, 74-75)

Nussbaum similarly places freedom on the side of capabilities and, in this respect,

concurs with Sen’s position:

In contrasting capabilities with functionings, we should bear in mind that capability

means opportunity to select. The notion of freedom to choose is thus built into the

notion of capability. (Nussbaum 2011a, 25)

In essence, the step of actualizing a realization option takes the form of a “choice”

of activities and states of affairs that a person “has reason to value” in light of their idea of a good life (Sen 1999, 14, 18, 73, 293, passim; 2009, 231). As far as I can see, all normatively discerning versions of CA designate this evaluative moment of individual

selection to realize or not to realize being and activity possibilities as the paradigmatic location of freedom.4 However, one can only refer to a substantive freedom of a person to transform their existing capabilities into concrete forms of being and activities if certain additional and various requirements – each depending on the nature of the situation – are met. For example, a woman possessing a good physical constitution may nonetheless be

extremely limited in her mobility if the laws of her country or local traditions prevent her from leaving the house without a male chaperon. Someone else might find themselves

unable to obtain a desired job despite having the best qualifications, only because they are a member of a stigmatized minority. At this point, of significance are two references concerning terminology and one reference to the priority given to the evaluative moment as a moment of freedom:

(1) Ambivalent use of the term “capability” : It is impossible to find a consistent use of the term “capability” in the relevant CA literature. Instead, its use varies between two main meanings and their derivatives. The main meanings can be seen to concur with Aristotle’s differentiation of two modalities of possibility: In the Metaphysics (1019b34), Aristotle differentiates between a possibility and a potency. In the first case, the possible state of affairs has no reference to a capacity and is therefore merely logical y non-contradictory (a possibility), while the second case is a real possibility that has reference a capacity (potency).5 In fact, capabilitarians regularly employ the term “capability” in accordance with either only one or a combination of the two fol owing basic meanings6:

4] In addition to this concept of freedom that is tailored to individual life opportunities, Sen recognizes a second aspect of freedom that is related to (political) decision-making processes (cf. Sen 2002, 585).

5] What I refer to here as ‘potency’ corresponds to what Alan Gewirth characterizes as ‘capacity,’

which he distinguishes from ‘capability’: While capability is “primary active,” capacity can “be passive as well as active; it is an ability not only to develop but also to be developed in certain ways” (1998, 63, n. 5).

6] In this respect, compare the analysis given by Crocker (2008, 171-77), who investigates the use of terminology by Sen and Nussbaum. Crocker comes to the conclusion that for Sen “a person’s capability (for a particular functioning) is a possibility, option, freedom, or opportunity ‘facing’ the person. But this

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– that of a “possibility” in the sense of a logically possible option, which actually ensues as a contingent “opportunity”;

– as an “ability” in the sense of a potency inherent in an individual, which, in turn, can be differentiated in terms of being active or passive, as well as poorly or

strongly developed.

We refer to a “potency” in an active sense when we mean a capacity, a certain know-

how, or even a skil . I will call this a capability in the narrow sense of the term (cf. Sedmak 2011, 32). Inasmuch as capabilitarians also include physical and psychological traits or characteristics of individuals as capabilities (see below), it appears that what is meant in this case are passive rather than active capacities. Regarding the transformation of such traits and characteristics into functionalities, one could again turn to Aristotle and speak of dispositions (attitudes). A capability in the narrow, active sense can then be regarded as the individual potency that can exert influence on external circumstances or internal states (feelings, thoughts, dispositions). The fundamental distinctions are summarized in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Internal differentiation within the concept of capability

It is quite obvious that one’s activities can exert an influence upon one’s feelings and dispositions. Conversely, there is no denying that feelings and dispositions can have an enabling, encouraging, or even an inhibitory effect upon our active abilities. As a case in point, James J. Heckman and Chase O. Corbin have demonstrated how various active

capabilities reciprocal y enhanced each other during ontogenetic skill formation within a dynamic model (2016, 344-48).

At first glance, the possibilities offered by a combination of an actual opportunity (O), either arising or not from external circumstances, and a capability (C), understood in the narrow sense of an ‘internal’ potency, are rather straightforward: C ^ O, C ^ ¬O, ¬C ^ O, and ¬C ^ ¬O. On second glance, however, opportunities as well as capabilities – whether active or passive in nature – can be quantifiably assessed: Something can be more or less advantageous, something else can be more or less defined. Although I have easy access freedom may be due to a variety of internal factors, including abilities and other personal traits, as well as external factors” (2008, 172).

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to sturdy building materials, for instance, my capability in the narrow sense (know-

how, skil s) to ensure that I am “well-sheltered” (Sen 1992, 45) is not notably developed.

Conversely, a skil ed but impoverished bricklayer or carpenter in a Manila slum cannot

properly employ his skil s if he only has plastic sheeting and corrugated sheet metal at his disposal. This bifurcation of the concept of capabilities is likewise reflected in the concept of freedom.

(2) Equating freedom and capability: There is a tendency, if not an explicit attempt, in many capabilitarian texts to use the terms “substantial” or “real” freedom and capability as semantic equivalents. To mention but a few examples: Sen makes reference to “substantive freedoms – the capabilities – to choose a life one has” (1999, 74) and to “the capabilities that a person has, that is the substantive freedoms he or she enjoys to lead the kind of life he or she has reason to value” (1999, 87; emphasis added by the author). Nussbaum speaks of “capability, in the sense not of coerced functioning but of substantial freedom to choose and act” (2011a, 24). Clearly intended as an explanation, Robeyns adds “capabilities”

in brackets when referring to the term “substantive freedoms”: “substantive freedoms

(capabilities)” (2005, 93, 111). Keleher mirrors “[o]ne’s capability set, including un-chosen options” with “an individual’s freedom to engage the world and make significant decisions about what she will be and do in her life” (2014, 62). Asserting such an equivalence,

however, is by no means unproblematic, neither intensional y nor extensional y.

This is an apt moment to take a look at the intensional aspect of this equivalence:

When we think of capabilities as substantial freedoms, then it clearly fol ows that at a particular point in time “t” we possess the greatest freedom of choice of activities (doings) and states of affairs (beings) when ‘C’ and ‘O’ are ful y combined as ‘C ^ O’ in t, such that an individual could uncompromisingly realize their conception of a good life at that particular point in time. Viewed in this light, the normative objective of CA must be to at least achieve the threshold level of C ^ O permanently and to the greatest possible extent for all cases of C ^ ¬O, ¬C ^ O, and ¬C ^ ¬O. Yet, since C is an internal aspect and O

is an external aspect that to a certain extent7 can be quantifiably gauged independently of each other, there must be a threshold value for C and one for O. As such, capability as a substantial freedom is basical y a hybrid concept that always includes both an internal and an external aspect. Irrespective of whether the scope of justice is applied according to the distribution norms of egalitarianism, prioritarianism, or sufficiency theory (Kaufmann

2006; Davis and Wel s 2016; Nielsen and Axelsen 2017), a uniform standard for the

hybrid concept of substantial freedom cannot suffice.

(3) Significance of the evaluative moment: As a welfare and development economist, Sen leaves the evaluative moment and its reasons completely up to individuals

themselves, and, in contrast to conventional welfare economics, treats this as part of the expanded data base of his theory. Sen would prefer to leave any discussion of relevant

7] The restriction “to a certain extent” is due to the possibility that capabilities in the narrower sense can be lost if, in the long term, there is insufficient external opportunity to exercise them.

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value considerations and the assessment of their underlying reasons to the democratic

decision-making process (Sen 1999, chap. 6; cf. Crocker 2008). By contrast, Nussbaum, in adopting certain Aristotelian arguments, initial y understood her theory as a suggestion as to what elements constitute a good life – even though substantial y divergent views on what the good life entails has since led her to adopt a political liberalism along the lines of Rawls (see below).

Despite this arguably greatest difference between the two, both Sen and Nussbaum

have introduced their approaches as an alternative to the various versions of resourcism: inasmuch as John Rawls, Charles Beitz, and Thomas Pogge, on the one hand, and Ronald

Dworkin, on the other, direct their focus on the fair distribution of more or less primary goods and services, they are thereby subject to the initial criticism of merely dwel ing on the means to an end and not on the end itself:

An important problem arises from the fact that primary goods are not constitutive of

freedom as such, but are best seen as means to freedom […]. (Sen 1992, 80)

By referring to “freedom” as the actual, final end, Sen disavows any welfare

theoretical and utilitarian determination of goals in the form of well-being, welfare, or utility (happiness, desire fulfilment, or preference satisfaction). As all the varieties of CA consider that primary goods, including negative freedoms (freedom from y, that is, from external despotism and repression), serve as a means to realize positive freedoms (cf. Crocker 2008, 121-22), the question immediately rises as to what kind of freedom (freedom to do what?) is actual y meant here. Insofar as positive freedoms are understood as realization opportunities that can be embodied in capabilities, one is left to pose the analogue

question in terms of capabilities: What kind of capabilities are ends in themselves and not merely further means to some higher-level goal?

Opinions differ sharply with respect to the answer to this question. The first, liberal, and material y parsimonious answer provided by Sen is that the purpose of freedom is

to al ow every individual to decide for themselves what they want to do and to become.

Robeyns formulates this point as fol ows:

What is ultimately important is that people have the freedoms or valuable

opportunities (capabilities) to lead the kind of lives they want to lead, to do what they want to do and be the person they want to be. (2005, 95)

Simply put, those who are in the position “to lead the kind of lives they want to lead”

have the substantial freedom (capability) to transform those capabilities into functionings that, from their point of view, they have “reason to value.” In this sense, Sen also designates in The Idea of Justice (2009) freedom as an end: “primary goods are merely means to other things, in particular freedom […]” (2009, 234). How should this be understood?

For il ustrative purposes, let us imagine someone who would like to lead a simple life

consisting of optional y eating, sleeping, reading a book, riding a bike, or spending time with friends. Let us further assume that at a particular point in time, this person has

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the capability of freely choosing between these five options, as well as combining and

organizing them at her own discretion with the aim of realizing their idea of the good life.

This person would therefore possess the relevant internal potencies (abilities = capabilities in the narrow sense) and the external opportunities “to lead the kind of life she wants to.” From this perspective, freedom of choice here is clearly related to the performance of a decision-making competency (cf. Leßmann 2011), namely a second-order capacity that pertains to the available specific first-order capacities (to eat, sleep, read a book, etc.): Capability reflects a person’s freedom to choose between alternative lives (functioning combinations), and its valuation need not presuppose unanimity regarding one

specific set of objectives (or, as Rawls cal s it, ‘a particular comprehensive doctrine’).

(Sen 1992, 83)

According to this interpretation, the determination of (final) ends lies in the hands

of every individual – or in the hands of a democratical y constituted society. The liberal version of CA thereby finds itself in a state of latent tension with respect to alternative, yet potential y more controversial options. These alternatives maintain that the actual end must somehow entail a specified concept of the good life or a successful lifestyle, as Nussbaum original y did with her “thick vague conception of the good” (1990, 217 ff.). There are a variety of starting points to arrive at such specifications. One could turn to sources in the history of civilization in order to attain an idea of humanity8, which could subsequently be broadened to include a concept of a good or flourishing life. This would then permit us to inquire as to which capabilities are embodied in this lifestyle (Nussbaum 1987, 1990, 1992, 1995). One could equal y begin with an analysis of human abilities, identify criteria for particularly excel ent capabilities (i.e. key capabilities, Sedmak 2011), and then make explicit the very nature of humanity embedded within these capabilities. Ultimately, both of these approaches lead to a quarrel about a consensual view of a successful lifestyle, which Sen would preferably eschew in order to create room for second-order capabilities.

Since any lifestyle pre-determined to be good or flourishing certainly cannot be based on arbitrary capabilities chosen at the discretion of individuals or of democratical y elected legislators. According to Nussbaum, it should be the task of philosophy to distinguish a qualified and therefore invariably limited spectrum of worthy capabilities, and in this way ensure

the philosophical underpinning for an account of basic constitutional principles that

should be respected and implemented by the governments of all nations, as a bare

minimum of what respect for human dignity requires. (2000a, 5, cf. 51, 116)

8] “What are the features of our common humanity, features that lead us to recognize certain others, however distant their location and their forms of life, as humans and, on the other hand, to decide that certain other beings who resemble us superficial y could not possibly be human?” (Nussbaum 1990, 219).

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It should be noted that the tremendous aspiration to specify capabilities as the object of general y respected and implemented constitutional principles concerning the exercise of political power would inevitably restrict the second-order freedoms of individuals: The basic choice that Nussbaum leaves to individuals and communities is how to

specify and implement the ideal of human flourishing that she – the philosopher –

offers as the morals basis for constitutional principles. (Crocker 2008, 162)

Then again, a normatively ambitious CA, which demands the col ective promotion

of capabilities for all mankind, either through the state or international organizations, could not seriously uphold a strict neutrality with respect to the diversity of human capabilities. At the very least, CA should provide selection and evaluation criteria in order to al ow for debate. Three brief comments should suffice at this point: If we make provisions for general conditions of shortage, the first question would concern the relevance of any capability with respect to the opportunity of a good or even only a decent lifestyle (Nussbaum 2000a, 13, 76; 2000b, 222-23; 2006, 44, 53; 2011a, 15, 29-42). For example, an extensive system of primary schools should be implemented before setting

up schools for ventriloquists. Secondly, there are all kinds of functionings (such as shelter, medical care, and mobility) that can be realized through various capabilities and therefore could be evaluated in terms of efficiency and sustainability. Lastly, we would have to consider the moral quality of capabilities: “Many capacities inherent in our nature are bad (e.g. the capacity for cruelty)” (Nussbaum 2011b, 25; cf. 2000a, 83; 2011a, 61; Robeyns 2016, 406).

A closer inspection of the dark side of human nature (Claassen und Düwell 2013, 496-97) reveals that under the surface of derogatory designations such as “cruelty”, there exists a broad range of capabilities with highly ambivalent potential: the expert cut into human flesh can equal y serve to heal (surgery) or to torture (cruel infliction of harm). Many competencies that distinguish a good diplomat engaged in a difficult mission are those also shared by notorious swindlers. And the expert with a solid training in computer sciences can secure data from hostile attacks or alternatively engage in such attacks. The list of dual-use capacities is optional y expandable and can be easily expressed in the terminology of freedom. CA should therefore provide criteria that would aid in distinguishing between

moral y good, moral y neutral, and evil realizations of capabilities.

III. NUSSBAUM’S CONCEPT OF CAPABILITIES AND A SIMPLE BASIC MODEL OF CA

In terms of capabilities, Nussbaum’s variant of CA essential y differentiates “basic

capabilities,” “higher-level capabilities,” with which she clarifies the internal differentiation between “internal” and “combined capabilities,” and “central capabilities.”9 As, in my

opinion, the ongoing discussion concerning Nussbaum’s list of central capabilities does not contribute anything essential y new towards the clarification of a basic model of

9] Nussbaum employs this terminology (at the latest) with her essay “Capabilities and Human Rights” (Nussbaum 1997, 289-90).

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capabilities, I prefer instead to concentrate here on explanations and offer corrective suggestions on terminology concerning (1) basic and (2) higher-level capabilities in

order to, along with Ingrid Robeyns, establish the connection between the central

concepts of CA (3).

(1) Keeping with the spirit of early poverty research (Charles Booth, Benjamin

S. Rowntree; cf. Gil ie 1996), Sen still understood “basic capabilities” as those that

correspond to more or less essential functionings needed for survival in situations of

extreme deprivation, such as “the ability to be well-nourished and well-sheltered, the

capability of escaping avoidable morbidity and premature morality, and so forth” (Sen

1992, 45; cf. 1999, 36). His language maintains the characteristic style of approaches

focusing on those basic needs and goods that primarily affect discernible physical

living conditions.

In Nussbaum’s writings, the terminology shifts to a more pronounced ontogenetic

perspective, which is directed towards the individual development of humans in a

psychophysical unity. As representative of “basic capabilities,” she lists “the capability for speech and language, the capability to love and gratitude, the capability for practical reason, the capability to work” (Nussbaum 2000a, 84). Assuming that these can already

be at the disposition even of an infant, Nussbaum understands the term “capabilities”

here in the sense of very general y delineated innate equipment or innate powers

(Nussbaum 2011a, 23). It should then be possible to differentiate and scale such powers, such as whether they require many years of practice or, to a certain degree, are ready to function from the very start, such as the capabilities of seeing and hearing (Nussbaum

2000a, 84). Without a doubt, the capability for practical reason and the capability

to work are among those particularly requiring intensive practice. If we still wish to

include these in the category of basic capabilities, the term “capability” seems to refer to a predisposition to a capability, thereby understood as a kind of potential to a potential. It is likely to be the case that basic capabilities as well as predispositions to capabilities do not simply develop autonomously but require an appropriate environment. Evidence

for this can be seen in the widespread phenomenon of stunting, particularly among infants and young children in developing countries. Malnutrition and undernutrition

can lead to developmental disorders even in the fetus, which can have an impact on

the later training of motor and cognitive capabilities (cf. Handa and Peterman 2006;

Grantham-McGregor et al. 2007; Groppo 2015).

(2) In terms of higher-level “trained or developed traits and abilities”, such as the

capability “of participating in politics” or “to think critical y or speak publicly” (Nussbaum 2011a, 22), Nussbaum recommends distinguishing between internal and combined

capabilities: “I use the term combined capabilities for the combination of trained

capacities with suitable circumstances for their exercise” (2008, 357; cf. 2000a, 84-85; 2011a, 22). Accordingly, the internal capacities include being able to think critical y, be political y active, to speak in public, and to organize, which are all essential for the external guarantees of the freedom of speech, assembly, and association. Furthermore,

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Nussbaum includes individual characteristics, such as “personality traits, intel ectual and emotional capacities, states of bodily fitness and health, internalized learning, skil s of perception and movement” 2011a, 21) to her list of internal capabilities. These are

dynamic phenomena, and in order to flourish as combined capabilities, their training and maintenance require accommodating social, economic, and political framework

conditions. Yet, even those capabilities classified by Nussbaum as “basic” require suitable external conditions in order to flourish (recall stunting), and, as substantial capabilities, would therefore also be “combined.” As such, I would prefer not to use Nussbaum’s

classification of internal capabilities as combined, but instead distinguish them from

“basic” capabilities with the designation of capabilities developed to a higher level. The second step leaves terminological generalists free to interpret the general possibility of participating in social life as a “capability” (Brighouse and Unterhalter 2010, 69), whereas terminological specialists can, for example, speak of someone possessing the professional competence to serve as a judge if that individual has passed the second

legal state examination (bar exam). Of course, the borders between a generalized

and a specialized perspective on capabilities are fluid, and the complex interaction

between internal potential and external circumstances at all levels of development and

specialization explain to no small measure the difficulties in measuring and comparing

capabilities (Comim 2008; Nussbaum 2011a, 61). Nevertheless, for the sake of clarity,

the generalists should be al owed to speak of capability sets for their purposes, while the specialists can refer to the specifying singular.

(3) In order to clarify the interaction between internal potencies and external

conditions in the constitution of capabilities as substantial freedoms, I would recommend making use of what Sen referred to as “conversion factors” (1992, 79-87), namely those

factors that co-determine if and how a capability or a set of capabilities can be transformed

“into freedom of choice over alternative combinations of functionings […]” (1992, 81) at a particular point in time with the help of actual y available resources. Robeyns broke down these conversion factors according to personal, societal, and environmental factors with regard to the capability set of an individual and situated these capabilities in a social context (cf. 2005, 98-9; 2016). She has thereby arrived at a non-dynamic basic model of the transformation of resources into achieved functions by means of individual capability sets. Figure 2 adopts her representation, although it simplifies two aspects of the model.10

10] The first point is that on the input side of her representation, Robeyns also breaks down the sources through which people can obtain or finance goods and services: non-market production, market production, net income, as well as transfer in kind. The second point is that element that I have labeled as “personal preferences” is differentiated by Robeyns according to “preference formation mechanism”

and “social influences on decision making” on the one hand, and “personal history and psychology” on the other (see 2005, 98). As these sources and differentiations are irrelevant for my considerations here, I have discarded them.

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Personal conversion factors include individual characteristics, such as intel igence, talent and skil s, physical condition (state of health), gender, and basic biochemical

parameters,

such as metabolism rate. When it comes to social conversion factors, a whole range of heterogeneous social characteristics and conditions come into play, ranging from laws,

conventions, hierarchies, and cultural practices and traditions (including discriminatory attitudes based on gender or ethnicity) to public goods, such as infrastructure, educational system, and so forth. Also included here are those external guarantees of freedom of

speech and assembly invoked by Nussbaum, which complement the internal capabilities

of critical thinking and being political y active, enabling them to become combined

capabilities and therefore de facto operative capabilities (freedoms). Environmental

conversion factors include not only long-term climatic conditions and geographical

locations, but also catastrophes occurring in the relative short-term, such as earthquakes, severe weather, hurricanes and floods, and drought.

IV. UNDERESTIMATED MOMENTS OF FREEDOM

Having regard this basic model of CA I would offer one brief explanatory comment

and two lengthier immanent-critical remarks. The keywords here are (1) interdependence, (2) variability and (3) freedom.

(1) Interdependence: Numerous causal and epistemic relations, as well as correlates of responsibility, can clearly exist between the various types of conversion factors.

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Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

For example, environmental catastrophes may be causal y attributable to col ectively interconnected activities, including social factors. And the severity of the consequences of such environmental events for persons affected depends to no small measure on the

extent and quality of the prognostic, preventative, and response resources deployed. In terms of personal factors, there is sufficient evidence to show that individual access to education as well as a balanced diet are dependent on social parameters, such as ethnicity, class, and gender. And with respect to recurrent political disputes on international trade agreements, the antagonists are nonetheless united in their acceptance of the premise

that institutional factors exert a considerable influence on the work and living conditions of the affected populations – in either a positive or negative sense.

(2) Variability: Secondly, it is significant that, typical y, the possibilities of realizing capabilities or even sets of capabilities are dependent on personal conversion factors.

Under other circumstances, in a varied instantiation of the schema, these capabilities

or sets could be similarly subsumed under personal conversion factors or even under

achieved functionings. A vivid example deals with what Nussbaum classifies as an

essential capability: “Being able to participate effectively in political choices that govern one’s life” (Nussbaum 1997, 288; 2003, 42; 2006, 77; 2011a, 34, etc.). It encompasses, as a combined capability, the fundamental and actual guarantee of political rights, including a sub-type of social conversion factors, which can, for example, be implemented in local environmental political activities (functionings), i.e. activists seeking to prevent the destruction of ecological y valuable marshlands as a result of road construction. Should the protest to maintain the biotope prove successful, the activists would thereby also

prevent a local restriction upon their exercise of a further capability, similarly classified by Nussbaum as being essential, namely, “being able to live with concern for and in relation to animals, plants, and the world of nature” (1997, 288; 2003, 42; 2006, 77; 2011a, 34, etc.). Inasmuch as combined capabilities concern substantial freedoms, the activists

could have devoted their “substantial” political freedom to uphold ecological preservation to another substantial freedom – the freedom to be able to develop a relationship to other living beings and to nature as a whole. The freedom/capability to engage in political

activities is retained as long as the relevant parameters (legal frameworks, passive

and active dispositions, conversion factors) do not change for the worse. In addition,

the protagonists have gained the freedom to experience nature, which, presumably,

would have been lost had they not intervened. According to this interpretation, we are

dealing with an increase in freedom relative to a conceivable situation where there is a lack of political freedom. Looking back, the original political capability (in the full sense of a substantial freedom) could thus also be interpreted as a conversion factor for the capability to develop a relationship with nature. At the same time, this example of a

variable instantiation il ustrates a synergy effect, which, according to Heckman and

Corbin (2016), can produce an interaction of various capabilities. This synergy effect

can be formulated both in terms of capability as well as in terms of freedom.

Jens Peter Brune

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(3) Freedom: As we have seen, CA situates the freedom of a person in their individual choice between alternative combinations of doings and beings against the background

of existing capability sets. These capabilities embody, as it were, that what a person is in a position to achieve (freedom to achieve) at a particular point in time and under the given contextual conditions. The contextual conditions, in turn, can be analyzed on the one hand in terms of accessible resources as the means to pursue a particular way of life, and on the other hand in terms of institutional frameworks, the value systems and norms of the local community, natural environmental conditions, personal traits and characteristics, and

so on. In particular, the extent, orientation, and scope of these possibilities for doing and being appear to be the determining factors in establishing what a person may achieve at the moment of decision. They condition the latitude of freedom intrinsic to the capabilities yet appear to be peculiarly detached from any access by the individual. What thereby emerges is a depiction of persons whose ways of life tends to be reduced at any time to a given inventory of realization opportunities in conflict with internal and external experiences.

Capabilitarians’ professional y widespread preoccupation with and concentration on the

poor and poorest of this world may have assisted in the promotion of such a depiction.

Nonetheless, this could advance the de-differentiation of the two moments of meaning in the guiding term “capability” as external opportunity and internal potency.

Without any further explanation, Robeyns designates her schema of a “person’s

capability set” as a non-dynamic depiction. A more dynamic view of the connection

between functionings, capabilities, and freedoms emerges when we take into account

the previously discussed interdependence of conversion factors and the variability in the attribution of capabilities under capability sets, functionings, and conversion factors.

Speaking from a first-person perspective, through the decision to realize lower-level

capabilities into actual functionings, I frequently develop, under ontogenetic auspices, the potential to other or higher-level capabilities and functionings. The moment of freedom that arises in the first choice is simultaneously passed on to the next level, which al ows for the development of further and higher-level capabilities and functionings. Final y, this is reflected in personal conversion factors or even institutional norms (laws)11, which, in the form of framework conditions, will then al ow me (or not) to employ a then given set of capabilities in the functionings I prefer.

While this potential for freedom is systematical y underestimated in Robeyns non-

dynamic model, it nonetheless appears to me that the freedom to decide on capabilities to be realized, seen as the paradigmatic location of freedom, is prone to misunderstanding and overestimation. One view, let us say one that is semantical y naïve and empirical y uninformed, could imply that between a given capability set, on the one side, and

optional functionings (doings and beings), on the other, there existed a clearly defined 11] Correspondingly, Sen (1999, 36-40) differentiates between a “constitutive role,” which, for instance, political freedoms have on development, and an instrumental function of freedom that “concerns the way different kinds of rights, opportunities, and entitlements contribute to the expansion of human freedom in general” (1999, 37).

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Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

and genuine leeway space, which would provide individual freedom to choose a solid

and straightforward position to protect from paternalistic encroachments. CA would

reserve this leeway space for every individual so that they could realize their preferred functionings in accordance with their own conception of the good life. Such a conception is certainly evoked by the previously mentioned semantic equivalence of capabilities with freedoms. In conclusion, we will examine one of Nussbaum’s ideas to demonstrate that

this simplified picture simply does not hold true.

V. HOW AN OBJECTION TO PATERNALISM CANNOT BE AVOIDED

Initial y, Nussbaum recommended that political incentive measures should

exclusively concentrate on capabilities (1997, 287). She later conceded that such a

restriction was simply mistaken when considering certain groups of people. Basical y,

Nussbaum wants to adopt a political y liberal standpoint along the lines of Rawls, namely one that al ows for a plurality of conceptions of a good life, as she recognized that the promotion of functions in the case of ‘normal’ adults “were precluding many choices that citizens may make in accordance with their own conception of the good, and perhaps

violating their rights” (2000a, 87; cf. 2006, 171-72). This affirmation of political liberalism that perceives itself as being anti-paternalistic admits certain exceptions:

(α) In the case “of people with severe mental impairments,” who do not,

for example, have the capacity to decide upon a designated medical treatment

and therefore cannot be ‘informed’ in order to provide a possible ‘consent,’ they

should rather be supported in their actual functionings (state of health) instead of

capabilities (Nussbaum 2006, 172-73).

(β) Supporting functionings also remains a priority when this facilitates

the development of certain adult capabilities in children. This presupposes the

promotion of certain functionings in childhood, which in themselves serve as

prerequisites for later capabilities: “exercising a function in childhood is frequently necessary to produce a mature adult capability” (Nussbaum 2000a, 90). Such a

desired paternalism is reflected in compulsory education (Nussbaum 2006, 172,

377, 395; 2011a, 26, 148, 156).

(γ) Final y, Nussbaum is wil ing to al ow for exceptions to the ban on paternalism

when functionings are of key importance for the development or maintenance

of other capabilities. Above al , she includes health, security, and environmental

protection among the relevant spheres of life (2000a, 91; 2006, 172, 294).

At this juncture, I am not prepared to enter into the wide-ranging debate concerning

various forms of paternalism (cf. Leßmann 2005; Nelson 2008; Claassen 2014). Instead,

in two steps, I would prefer to show why Nussbaum’s theory can hardly avoid the objection of paternalism, whether justified or not, because her primary focus is on capabilities and only in supposedly exceptional circumstances on functionings.

Jens Peter Brune

63

(1) The difficulties begin with the identification of capabilities and functions and

their categorization along the lines of “basic” and “internal” capabilities. The characteristic of being “basic” can be understood along with Sen and early poverty research in the sense of being urgent for survival or the avoidance of “absolute deprivation” (Sen 1981, 17):

“Basic capabilities” would then be those capabilities that ensure survival or, as the case may be, physical health within one’s environment (see above: 3. (1)). From the viewpoint of a developmental theory approach, however, basic could also be understood as a Prius

[ previous]. Accordingly, a capability would then be labeled basic in relationship to higher-level and/or more specific capabilities that build upon it (see above: III. (2)). Taken from this point of view, Nussbaum’s “capability to work” could now be seen ontogenetical y

as higher-level, even when perceived in a rather broad sense. At the same time, it could also be classified as “basic” in the sense of being “urgent,” to the extent that we assign normal adults as being in a “mature condition of readiness.” By contrast, in the case of small children, people with certain mental disabilities, or very old persons, we do not presuppose a mature capability to work nor – a fortiori – its urgency.

From a philosophical point of view, we could certainly leave the difficulties of the

intensional and extensional delineation of a capability concept to relevant specialist

disciplines, such as evolutionary psychology and learning theory. One thing, however,

seems perfectly clear to me: The partitioning of capabilities according to types and levels is not something that is plainly apparent from the nature of the subject matter. Rather, it is dependent on theoretical positions and is thereby subject to particular interests.

In particular, it provides absolutely no response to the fol ow-up question, which is of vital interest to any resource al ocating entity, as to whether a person has developed a particular capability to a certain threshold level, without the person having even activated this capability: The kind and degree of development of capabilities cannot at all be recognized, irrespective of relevant functionings.

(2) I thereby come to the actual crucial issue: the differentiation between capabilities and functionings. The simple picture that clearly delineates capabilities from functionings is just not applicable for all those capabilities or even bundles of capabilities the acquisition of which could fit under the motto of “learning by doing.” Here, one could easily invoke examples of very heterogeneous capabilities of various difficulty and aggregation levels: being able to read, write, perform arithmetical calculations, make music, dance, swim, ride a bicycle, maintain social relationships, experience sexual satisfaction, as well as program computers, solve legal cases, or draft political programs. All of these capabilities require for their development that we actual y exercise the relevant functionings (activities) to a particular degree – even if initial y we are inept or amateurish – because it is only in this way that we can acquire the “tacit components” (Polanyi 1962) of the corresponding knowledge. As previously noted, Nussbaum does concede that “exercising a function in

childhood is frequently necessary to produce a mature adult capability” (2000a, 90). Yet, in this case, it could appear as if the close interconnections of capabilities and functionings involved in learning were merely a specific feature of childhood. This would be misleading,

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Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

however, as empirical evidence makes amply clear: Widespread functional il iteracy

among adults is not only explained by the circumstance of never having learned to read and write. Quite frequently, already acquired skil s in reading and writing can be lost as a result of a protracted lack of practice (Buddeberg 2012, 206 f.; Sturm and Ziegler 2014).

As such, it appears to me that a much closer interconnection between capabilities and

functionings exists, namely one that spans the whole life cycle of an individual into old age. This also explains the basic thesis of CA as to why those capabilities fal ing under the heading of “learning by doing” as an internal potency or disposition will still always depend on suitable external conditions. Then, without actual opportunities for practice in the form of functionings, these capabilities can neither be developed nor be maintained at a previously achieved level. The idea of understanding capabilities as substantial freedoms requires exactly this interplay between external opportunities and internal potency (or rather capabilities in the narrow sense) and is thereby opposed to Nussbaum’s separation of capabilities from functionings in the name of avoiding paternalism.

In conclusion, if it is true that capability, understood as substantial freedom, is a

hybrid concept that invariably includes an inner as well as outer aspect, then those

versions of CA that base their normative ambitions more on external opportunities for the realization of internal potencies, tend to conform to views of Rawls. Therefore, along with “rights, liberties, and opportunities, and income and wealth” (Rawls 1999, 79),

they also take into consideration a broad spectrum of basic goods. By contrast, those

capabilitarians who place greater focus on supporting the internal aspect of capabilities by advancing a kind of “educational approach of justice” (Andresen, Otto and Ziegler

2010, 188), will thereby always take into account and promote functionings. As such,

they, in particular, will be obliged to observe the sort of neutrality necessary to avoid the objection (legitimate or not) of paternalism.

brune@zedat.du-berlin.de

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Document Outline

- Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

- I. Two Central Ideas of CA

- II. Functionings, Capabilities and Freedom

- III. Nussbaum’s Concept of Capabilities and a Simple Basic Model of CA

- IV. Underestimated Moments of Freedom

- V. How an Objection to Paternalism Cannot Be Avoided

- References

Table of Contents

Capabilitarianism without Paternalism?

I. Two Central Ideas of CA

II. Functionings, Capabilities and Freedom

III. Nussbaum’s Concept of Capabilities and a Simple Basic Model of CA

IV. Underestimated Moments of Freedom

V. How an Objection to Paternalism Cannot Be Avoided

References

I. Two Central Ideas of CA

II. Functionings, Capabilities and Freedom

III. Nussbaum’s Concept of Capabilities and a Simple Basic Model of CA

IV. Underestimated Moments of Freedom

V. How an Objection to Paternalism Cannot Be Avoided

References