Philosophy and Economics in the Capabilities Approach: An Essential Dialogue

Economics needs to increase its awareness of philosophy. Even the heterodox brand of development economics represented by the human development approach has as yet not fully internalized all aspects of philosophy that offer rich insights for that approach. I explore the history of the relationship between philosophy and development economics and then describe areas of development economics where the insights of philosophy are crucial, including: the idea of social justice; the concept of welfare, and the commensurability or incommensurability of its elements; the idea of “political” as opposed to “comprehensive” liberalism; the topic of cultural relativism and universality; the nature of free will; and the nature of emotion and desire. I recommend that the human development approach deepen its connection to philosophy in all these areas.