Distributive Justice: Means and Capabilities

Abstract

Dworkin’s equality of resources can be interpreted as a proposal that integrates distributive criteria taken from both equality of means andequality of capabilities, and overcomes the risks of subjectivism, overrigidity and perfectionism inherent in theories of welfare, means and capabilities respectively. This can be achieved by concentrating on arrangements of justice working within the parameter of equality of resources that equalize capabilities at a level of minima, thus avoiding the perfectionist risk and, once the threshold that ensures autonomous subjects is passed, ruled by criteria taken from theories of means. The condition of autonomous subject is ensured by means of a set of basic capabilities allowing for the overcoming of difficulties that other criteria for attributing responsibility have, when faced with the significant problem of adaptive preferences.