Extending the Capabilities Conception of the Individual in Economics: Relationality and Responsibility

Abstract

This article extends the capabilities conception of individuals developed by Davis, understanding capabilities as relationships. I first introduced the main concepts that are useful for this extension, namely those of agency and capabilities. Then, I showed that agency refers to a rational and responsible exercise of capabilities through Ricoeurs analysis of Sens earlier works. I successively developed the concept of capabilities as relationships through the distinction between intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships: in this framework, self-scrutiny and relationality, respectively, become the leading capabilities of these two relationships. From this extension of the capabilities conception of the individual, two concepts arise with a certain strength, namely those of responsibility and relationality. This extension of the capabilities conception of the individual in economics also in terms of interpersonal relationships emphasises that this social conception of the individual is characterised by relationality. Thanks to responsibility and relationality, the capabilities conception of the individual might be applied in fields such as contemporary civil economy and ecological economics. JEL Classifications: B31, B410, B59, Z13