Bénédicte Zimmermann

Abstract

This article discusses the implications of the double dimension of the capability concept, which is simultaneously normative and descriptive, in sustaining a critical approach toward freedom. Capability may provide a key concept for critical theory. It may also fuel critical pragmatism as anchored in committed empirical inquiry. Building on John Dewey’s pragmatist account, the article advocates a critical approach that is as much a matter of conceptual yardstick as of empirical inquiry. Taking reforms in the area of French continuing vocational training as a case in point, it demonstrates the analytical and critical power, when it comes to the idea of freedom, of a capability approach confronting three levels of inquiry that are usually investigated separately: the institutional (public policy) level, the organizational (in this case company) level, and the individual (biographical) level.

Keywords

Capability, critical theory, critical pragmatism, freedom, inquiry, multi-level analysis, vocational training, work

From: Critical Sociology 2018 44 (6)

Editor: Wang Yi