more from Martha Nussbaum

Single Idea 21014

[catalogued under 25. Social Practice / D. Justice / 1. Basis of justice]

Full Idea

A prominent idea, common in the U.S., sees rights as barriers against interfering state action. ...The Capabilities Approach, by contrast, insists that all entitlements involve an affirmative task for government, to actively support capabilities.

Gist of Idea

Rights are not just barriers against state interference; governments must affirm capabilities of citizens

Source

Martha Nussbaum (Creating Capabilities [2011], 3)

Book Reference

Nussbaum,Martha C.: 'Creating Capabilities' [Belknap Harvard 2013], p.65


A Reaction

This makes her approach very left wing, by U.S. standards, because it needs higher taxation and a degree of government paternalism. Her approach strikes me as an excellent agenda for a fairly interventionist European liberal party.