Sen Social Justice Essay

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In conclusion, there is no doubt that Sen’s approach has influenced the discourse on social justice tremendously. Although his perspective is not a theory per se, the depth and scope of the capability approach is evident in the vast amount of research Sen’s work has inspired. Sen’s contribution looks at issues of social justice from the perspective of both the individual and society. Moreover, his approach extends beyond the borders of social justice, to those of economics, development and human rights. I find it remarkable how he has been able to blur the boundaries between the various disciplines by asking questions which require attention from different fields. Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach revolves around people and sees development …show more content…

As opposed to accumulating resources it construes capabilities in terms of the substantive freedoms people have. It provides a relatively universal grammar for understanding the elements of human well-being. Another one of Sen's major contributions to a theory of social justice is the relationship he makes between the public and private spheres of society. Previously, social justice scholars ignored the implications of private inequalities, especially gender inequalities in the establishment of social justice. Rawls for example, failed to address distributional issues of importance to women, such as justice and distribution within the family. 9 Sen however not only initiated a discussion on the implications of gender inequalities on social justice, but has done extensive research in the field. Moreover, his work has greatly contributed to raising awareness about gender inequalities and establishing indicators to measure gender inequality. The GenderRelated Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) are examples of indicators developed 9 S. Hassim ‘Social Justice, Care and Developmental Welfare in South Africa: A Capabilities Perspective’ (2008) 34 Social Dynamics 2 at

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