ABSTRACT

Sen's capability approach is often criticized for its alleged individualism; various approaches have been suggested to overcome this problem. The notion of ‘collective capabilities’ is best known while other suggestions haven't received as much attention or approval. This article surveys the manifold suggestions for how Sen's capability approach can accommodate collectives and introduces the literature. Five strands of literature are identified with a framework that classifies these suggestions according to (a) whether the groups are externally or internally defined and (b) whether the main aim of these groups is to improve the well-being or agency of their members. After discussing the main threads of the literature the article tags Sen's capability approach as an example of structural individualism, proposes the concept of collective functionings, and calls for models of interaction between individuals and collective agency that integrate collective intentions and explore the effects of Giddensian social structure.

摘要

森的能力方法经常因其所谓的个人主义而受到批评。已经提出了各种方法来克服这个问题。“集体能力”的概念最为人所知，而其他建议则没有得到足够的关注或认可。本文调查了关于 Sen 的能力方法如何适应集体的多种建议并介绍了文献。根据 (a) 这些群体是外部定义的还是内部定义的，以及 (b) 这些群体的主要目标是否是改善其成员的福祉或能动性，用一个框架对五股文献进行了分类。在讨论了文献的主要线索之后，文章将 Sen 的能力方法标记为结构个人主义的一个例子，提出了集体功能的概念，并呼吁建立个人与集体机构之间的互动模型，以整合集体意图并探索吉登斯社会结构的影响。