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Capabilities, Human Rights and Business

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Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics

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Abstract

A chapter on the importance for the business world of both the demands made by human rights and the connection between these rights and the capability approach cannot fail to be included in any handbook of business ethics published in the early twenty-first century. This chapter attempts (1) to specify the relationship between the capability approach and the human rights approach, because both put forward global imperatives and thus seem to cover the same area of justice, (2) to present both discourses as complementary, because each of these has advantages missing in the other, but at the same time there are great coincidences between them, (3) to present the necessary interaction between people’s capabilities and social recognition of human rights and (4) to specify the kind of obligations that the demand to empower basic capabilities in relation to human rights creates for companies.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This study is part of the Projects for Scientific Research and Technological Development HUM2007-66847-C2-01/FISO and FFI2010-21639-C02-01, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation with European Union ERDF funds, and part of the work done by the Generalidad Valenciana authority’s research group PROMETEO/2009/085.

  2. 2.

    Sen [1] note. On this matter Sen cites [2–7].

  3. 3.

    Sen [8]. See also, amongst others, [9]. For the birth and history of the ethics of development see in particular [10–12].

  4. 4.

    Flavio Comim “Capabilities and Beyond”, paper presented at the 2nd Latin-American and Caribbean Conference on “Human Development and Capability Approach”, held in Montevideo, from 15 to 17 October 2008.

  5. 5.

    Crocker [15], specifically, 601 and ff.

  6. 6.

    Sen [20]. For relations between basic capabilities and human rights in Sen’s work see in particular: [20–23].

  7. 7.

    Nussbaum [24]. For relations between basic capabilities and human rights in Nussbaum’s work also see: [25].

  8. 8.

    For the notion of “ethical economics” see [37].

  9. 9.

    DeMartino [39]. On this point see also [40].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Filosofía Moral y Política, Universidad de Valencia, Avgda. Blasco Ibáñez, 30, 46010, Valencia, Spain

    Prof. Adela Cortina

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  1. Prof. Adela Cortina
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Correspondence to Adela Cortina .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Peter Löscher-Stiftungslehrstuhl für Wirtschaftsethik, Technische Universität München, München, Germany

    Christoph Luetge

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Cortina, A. (2013). Capabilities, Human Rights and Business. In: Luetge, C. (eds) Handbook of the Philosophical Foundations of Business Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1494-6_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1494-6_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-007-1493-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-007-1494-6

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