Abstract
As the scale and depth of urban poverty is increasingly recognised, questions arise about what can be done to address it. The contribution of urban social movements has particularly been recognised with regard to collective consumption of goods and services due to their significance to survival and well-being. This article explores studies of three movements concerned with collective consumption – one in Peru, and two in South Africa. To understand and analyse their contribution, I draw on Sen (1999) and in particular his capability approach. The studies show that much social movement activity is designed to enhance and strengthen individual and collective capabilities. Other complementary activities are focussed on entitlements and endowments to enhance present and future capabilities and improve achieved functionings.
Au fur et à mesure que l’ampleur et la profondeur du phénomène de la pauvreté urbaine sont reconnues, la question se pose de comment la combattre. La contribution des mouvements sociaux urbains est de plus en plus reconnue, surtout par rapport aux activités ciblées sur les biens et services de consommation collective, qui jouent un rôle significatif dans la survie et le bien-être. Ce papier examine des études réalisées sur trois mouvements s’intéressant à la consommation collective – un au Pérou et deux en Afrique du Sud. Pour comprendre et analyser leur contribution, je m’appuie notamment sur l’approche par les « capacités » développée par Sen (1999). Ces études montrent qu’une grande partie de l’activité de ces mouvements est destinée à valoriser et renforcer les capacités individuelles et collectives. D’autres activités complémentaires se concentrent sur les droits et les dotations en ressources dans le but de valoriser les capacités présentes et futures, et d’améliorer les « fonctionnements » acquis.
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Notes
In South Africa there have been extensive service-delivery protests. See, for example, Smith (2008); and Duval-Smith (2009).
Although, in the context of the achievement of freedoms, Sen (1999, pp. 283–288) discusses the significance of progressive social policies and behavioural norms, he does not offer a detailed elaboration as to how they are secured.
Sen refers to market norms and values as part of the economic entitlement (1999, p. 39).
Tilly (2004) demonstrates the significance of tradition in his summary of European social movement history. This theme is reiterated in a South African literature; see, for example, Skuse and Cousins (2007).
This figure is somewhat simplified as social endowments may also influence individual capability but as this link is not a major contribution to the events and processes discussed here it is not included.
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Acknowledgements
The research was conducted thanks to a generous grant from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), grant number RES-167-25-0170.
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This article has been developed from a paper originally presented at the EADI-DSA 2011 Annual Conference: ‘Rethinking Development in an Age of Scarcity and Uncertainty’, York, 19–22 September 2011.
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Mitlin, D. Endowments, Entitlements and Capabilities – What Urban Social Movements Offer to Poverty Reduction. Eur J Dev Res 25, 44–59 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2012.18