Needs, Capabilities and Well-being: Relating the Universal and the Local
Author(s)
Clark, David A.; Gough, Ian
Abstract
The first part of this paper addresses a central question of the WeD research program: the relation between ‘the universal and the local’. It contends that local perspectives, preferences and values can be legitimately challenged under certain circumstances. It then turns to three major contributions to developing a universalist conception of wellbeing: Amartya Sen’s and Martha Nussbaum’s work on functionings and capabilities, and Len Doyal and Ian Gough’s theory of human need. The relation between these, especially need theory, and the WHOQOL and Research Profiles approaches is then briefly discussed in part two. Finally, it draws out some implications of the universal-local distinction for the future research methodology of the WeD program.
