The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Amartya Sen’s notion of adaptation and his views on identity politics by focussing on the issue of slavery and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between Amartya Sen’s notion of adaptation and his views on identity politics by focussing on the issue of slavery and, more specifically, on the example of the happy or contented slave.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is text based. The methodological approach adopted is that of conceptual analysis, as is typical for work of this kind.
Findings
The paper concludes that the example of the happy or contented slave is indeed a fruitful one for those interested in exploring the relationship between Sen’s views on “the adaptation problem” and his views on identity politics, especially in relation to the subjection of women. Here Sen’s debt to the ideas of Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill is particularly important.
Research limitations/implications
One implication of the argument of the paper is that there is a need to consider more carefully the differences that exist between the views of Wollstonecraft and Mill, so far as the example of the happy or contented slave is concerned.
Practical implications
One practical implication of the paper is that, hopefully, it establishes the continued relevance of the ideas of thinkers such as Wollstonecraft and Mill today, not least because of the influence that they have had on theoreticians such as Amartya Sen.
Social implications
The paper addresses issues which are of considerable social and political significance, especially for women in underdeveloped societies today.
Originality/value
The example of the happy or contented slave has not received much discussion in the literature on Sen, although Sen himself has suggested that the distinction between happiness and contentment is an important one, which does merit further discussion.
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Keywords
This article aims to provide a response to the papers in this issue.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to provide a response to the papers in this issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology employed is philosophical.
Findings
In her response, Nussbaum thanks the authors for their contributions and addresses their most salient arguments.
Originality/value
Nussbaum in this article responds to the papers in this issue of IJSE and addresses the authors' most salient arguments.
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The purpose of this paper is to offer a critique of Sen’s utilisation of aspects of Marx’s thought that inform his idea of justice. Marx’s ideas appear in four main areas of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer a critique of Sen’s utilisation of aspects of Marx’s thought that inform his idea of justice. Marx’s ideas appear in four main areas of discussion: Sen’s positioning of Marx in relation to the other thinkers in his approach to justice; Marx’s fluid notion of identity and its relation to social choice; the problem of going beyond a subjective perspective to consider objective concerns by considering the impact of what Sen calls “objective illusion”; and the issue of just redistribution.
Design/methodology/approach
The author utilises a Marxian framework of analysis that engages in immanent critique of Sen’s use of Marx in relation to his theory of justice. This is accomplished through textual analysis and by critical assessment of the analytical Marxist tradition that Sen can be seen as using in his own theories with all their inherent weaknesses.
Findings
Sen’s attempt to use Marx’s ideas to inform his theory of justice founder because: he groups Marx with thinkers that would not accept his desire for the abolition of capitalism and a more just society beyond it. He reduces Marx to the analytical tradition with all its inherent weaknesses. He resorts to a methodological individualist approach of choice that Marx rejects. His search for positional objectivity is undermined by the power of capitalist ideology and ruling class interest. His discussion of just redistribution ignores how Marx’s approach can overcome the arbitrariness that Sen thinks is inevitable when making just decisions.
Research limitations/implications
Theoretically, the paper suggests that, based on immanent critique and textual analysis, Sen’s use of Marx’s idea of justice is problematic most notably because Sen keeps his analysis within the framework of capitalism that Marx would reject. The implication for further research is the development of Marx’s own arguments on what constitutes a just society.
Practical implications
Practically, the paper raises questions about the capacity for justice to be achieved within the capitalist system for the reasons discussed in relation to Sen.
Social implications
Socially, the paper implies that far greater measures to tackle the injustices of the world are necessary than seem to be admitted to by justice theorists such as Sen.
Originality/value
The author shows that the use of Marx’s theories to inform Sen’s notion of justice, while to be welcomed, lose their efficacious power to expose the full injustice of capitalism and the need for its transcendence.
The paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoints practical implications from cutting‐edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
The paper finds that one person's optimist is another's naïve fool. As revolutions go the outcomes of the e‐learning revolution have been somewhat unspectacular. Expectations were high. They have not been met. Many will have noticed that walls did not, in fact, come tumbling down. Yet there are some signs of health for those who are patient enough to look for them. Spending on e‐learning is increasing, and within a context of overall increases on spending on learning, still doing particularly well. There is some pretty poor stuff to be bought by the unwary purchaser. Convergence within a consolidating industry, however, means that for the not‐overly‐optimistic benefits results are being achieved.
Practical implications
The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world's leading organizations.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy‐to‐digest format.
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Daramola Thompson Olapade, Tajudeen Bioye Aluko, Ademola Lateef Adisa and Adewale Adebanjo Abobarin
The Customary Land Delivery Institutions (CLDIs) provide the platform for the supply of developable land in most cities in sub-Saharan African countries. While there is a need to…
Abstract
Purpose
The Customary Land Delivery Institutions (CLDIs) provide the platform for the supply of developable land in most cities in sub-Saharan African countries. While there is a need to measure the effectiveness of CLDIs to compare their performance with others or themselves over time, there is however a dearth of evidence-based frameworks that could be adopted for such an assessment. This study developed a framework for the evaluation of the effectiveness of CLDIs. This is with a view to providing a tool for measuring the performance of land governance.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 46 good governance criteria for measuring the various dimensions of CLDIs generated from the literature were transformed into a measurable scale which was validated by a panel of 16 experts through a modified Delphi approach. A pilot study was also conducted on 42 land-based professionals to assess the reliability of the framework. Content Validity Index (CVI) was calculated for relevancy scores while clarity was measured by clarity score. Cronbach alpha was also employed to measure the reliability of the framework.
Findings
The result of the 46 criteria validated by the experts revealed that 89.5% of items in the developed instrument have a content validity index (I-CVI) equal to or greater than the 0.85 threshold and a mean I-CVI of 0.90. With the CVI score and the analysis of the comments made by the experts, six items were removed from the instrument and a total of six new items were added. The final corrected instrument after a further iteration had a total of 46 items. The reliability test also revealed a Cronbach alpha score of 0.82.
Research limitations/implications
This paper provides a framework useful for developing countries, especially in the development of land delivery policies and provides a framework for the analysis of the important aspects thereof.
Originality/value
This paper demonstrates the development of a holistic framework for the assessment of CLDIs which hitherto were not in existence.
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The paper aims to be a critical engagement with the ideas of Martha Nussbaum, as expressed in her recent book Creating Capabilities.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to be a critical engagement with the ideas of Martha Nussbaum, as expressed in her recent book Creating Capabilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The author's discussion focuses on the relationship which exists between Nussbaum's capabilities approach and cosmopolitan political thought. It follows Nussbaum in making a distinction between “strong” and “weak” cosmopolitanism.
Findings
The paper maintains that, despite Nussbaum's claim that she is not a cosmopolitan thinker, it is arguable that she can be associated with a weak form of cosmopolitanism.
Originality/value
This is an original piece of work which sheds new light on the relationship which exists between the ideas of Martha Nussbaum and the cosmopolitan tradition.
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Two of the first questions I was asked to decide when preparing this paper were these: did I want to use visual aids (they asked the BBC); and what did I want to call it. A letter…
Abstract
Two of the first questions I was asked to decide when preparing this paper were these: did I want to use visual aids (they asked the BBC); and what did I want to call it. A letter the Association sent to the BBC said this about the first: ‘The main purpose of using visual aids is to communicate information more effectively than is possible by speech alone.’ From that day on, we have hidden the letter from our colleagues in BBC Radio. And I want to speak on behalf of them, as well as Television.