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Cambridge Journal of Economics Advance Access published online on September 8, 2008
Cambridge Journal of Economics, doi:10.1093/cje/ben027
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

Social analysis and the capabilities approach: a limit to Martha Nussbaum's universalist ethics

S Charusheela*

* University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Thanks to Drucilla Barker, Vrinda Dalmiya, Colin Danby, Shelley Feldman, Paul Gellert, Mary John, Serap Kayatekin, Tanika Sarkar, Andrew Sayer, Eiman Zein-Elabdin and discussants at seminars Jawaharlal Nehru University, Portland State University, University of Colorado, University of Hawai'i and University of Oregon

Address for correspondence: Women's Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Pkwy; Box 455055, Las Vegas, NV 89154-5055, USA; email: s.charusheela{at}gmail.com

Postcolonial theorists critique modernist universalisms for legitimating structural power. Responding to these critiques, Martha Nussbaum argues that abandoning universalism leads to ethical relativism. Adapting Amartya Sen's capabilities approach, she has proposed a modified universalism that draws on cross-cultural conversations as a non-ethnocentric basis for universal judgment and intervention. This paper takes as its point of departure Nussbaum's (mis)reading of a critique by Nkiru Nzegwu. Working from that conversational failure, the paper identifies the social analysis Nussbaum deploys as a point of ethnocentric breakdown in her universalist approach.

Key Words: Martha Nussbaum • Capabilities • Universalism • Relativism • Postcolonial thought

JEL classifications: A13, B54, I00, O20

Manuscript received July 10, 2006; final version received January 8, 2008.


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