Explicating the Capability Approach through the Voices of the Poor: A Case Study of Waste-picking Women in Kerala

The capability approach brings attention to individuals' freedom to choose the valued functionings of life as the parameter for assessing well-being. This study explicates the capability notion, which incorporates the question of what is of value for the subject, by examining how much some of the major concerns of development matter for the poor as revealed from their perceptions and pursuits. The study specifically examines how detested are some of the widely negatively valued situations (unfreedoms-their being disadvantaged in an unequal world and their being employed in lower-end jobs) and how valued are some of the widely positively valued functionings (freedoms-education for upward mobility) in the lives of the poor. The findings give a nuanced and multilayered understanding of the capability notion. It reveals how, with regard to negatively evaluated unfreedoms, the subject need not necessarily evaluate them negatively. This is not just because of adaptive preferences but also due to the fact that there is "multiplicity of functionings even within unfreedoms," some of which are positive and the subject might value them positively and even passionately. With regard to positively evaluated freedoms, the subject might not prioritize them in the gamut of other goals and pursuits.