A review by inquiry_from_an_anti_library
Creating Capabilities: The Human Development Approach by Martha C. Nussbaum

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

This book tries to expand on how we evaluate countries. Rather than just a single number, like GDP, the Capabilities Approaches takes into account more factors which impact everyday life. Economies are dynamic, this book has done a good job at looking at more than just a few indicators for explaining an economies strength and weaknesses. An entire chapter was dedicated to other approaches and where they fail in a country evaluation. As the author does credit other evaluations, a confirmation bias is created by simplifying the other approaches and not discussing major limitations of the Capabilities Approach. For example, utilitarianism ask for what works best and creates the most happiness, simplifying that to make it seem wrong actually weakens the capabilities approach for if the capabilities approach does provide the greatest happiness than it is also a utilitarian approach. Through out the majority of the book, the author defends the Capabilities Approach leaving very little room for explaining them. Not such a difficult book to read.