Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between well-being and social justice . It addresses the question, ‘Equality of What’? After considering resources, opportunities and preference satisfaction as answers to this question, this chapter proposes that well-being is the appropriate ‘currency of justice’. However, ‘well-being’ is a contested concept. Empirical data relating to the 2007–2010 economic crisis highlight the shortcomings of subjective well-being (happiness and satisfaction) as a reliable source of information for socially just public policy . In contrast, the Capabilities Approach to well-being brings together the most important aspects of resources, opportunities, and subjective states. This chapter concludes that equality of well-being, defined in terms of capabilities, provides the strongest, most defensible account of egalitarian social justice , and the foundations of a just society.
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Austin, A. (2018). Well-Being and Social Justice: In Defence of the Capabilities Approach. In: Bache, I., Scott, K. (eds) The Politics of Wellbeing . Wellbeing in Politics and Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58394-5_3
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