A weakness of the capability approach with respect to gender justice

Abstract

This paper is concerned with certain ways in which people adjust to deprivation. Capability egalitarians cite cases where people adjust to deprivation by adapting their preferences to discredit welfarist egalitarianism. I argue that this phenomenon is an example of a larger set of cases, where people adjust their abilities and dispositions in the face of deprivation: I term such abilities and dispositions 'compensating abilities'. When these develop, I argue that equality of capability is unjust. This is particularly true in the context of gender injustice. Such cases lead us to look to some notion of expected well-being as a crucial egalitarian currency. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.