Capabilities, Contributive Injustice and Unequal Divisions of Labour

It is argued that the radical implications of the capabilities approach have been widely overlooked, primarily because of a tendency for the approach to be combined with inadequate theories of society, particularly regarding the external conditions enabling or limiting capabilities. While the approach is accepted in principle, by turning to the theory of contributive justice, which focuses on what people are allowed or expected to contribute in terms of work, paid or unpaid, we can see that job shortages and unequal divisions of labour are a major cause of capability inequalities and deficiencies. In so doing the theory helps us to appreciate the radical implications of the capabilities approach.