Browsing by Author "Munyiswa, Isaiah"

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    Citizenship as a human well-being capability
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Munyiswa, Isaiah; Roodt, Vasti; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: The aim of this dissertation is to defend the claim that citizenship is an architectonic human well-being capability. Citizenship so conceived is a necessary condition for human flourishing. I make and defend this claim in an endeavour to bridge the theory-practice gap that exists in Sen’s and Nussbaum’s notions of capability – a gap that has led some critics to describe the capability approach as an unworkable idea. By “citizenship” I mean, firstly, the formal status of being a legally recognised member of a state, and secondly, the formal capacities and immunities connected with such status – in short, citizenship rights. My claim, then, is that being a citizen in both senses of the word is a condition for achieving various functionings and, in this way, enabling human beings to live lives they have reason to value. The conception of capabilities in Sen’s capability approach is essentially theoretical and abstract. However, the value of the capability approach as an evaluation space for human well-being ultimately depends on its translation into a practical evaluative tool accessible to both academic researchers and policy-makers. Adopting the position that citizenship is an architectonic capability operationalizes the capability approach in particular ways. Firstly, defining citizenship as a capability gives specific content to, and thus improves our theoretical understanding of, capabilities. Secondly, defining capabilities in this way makes it easier for us to develop appropriate methods for their measurement. Thirdly, this approach develops a richer concept of citizenship, according to which citizenship is not simply a legal designation, but an important condition of human flourishing. I take this dissertation to be a contribution to growing efforts that are aimed at clarifying and operationalizing the capability approach.