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Women and Human Development

Martha Nussbaum

Capabilities feminism

It is a foundational statement of capabilities feminism, linking liberal universalism to gender justice across cultures.

Synopsis

A philosophical defense of the capabilities approach as a universal standard of justice grounded in what women need to live fully human lives.

Core passage idea

Paraphrase · Modern copyrighted work

Justice should be measured by whether each person can actually achieve a list of central human capabilities, not by aggregate wealth or stated preferences.

It supplies a concrete, dignity-based yardstick for evaluating societies, especially attentive to women's flourishing.

To avoid a bubble

Pair with Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom.

Reading note

Read it as rigorous normative philosophy, tracing how the capabilities list is justified and applied.

Best paired with

Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom

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