Who is the ‘Who’ of Freedom, Equality, and Independence? Martha Nussbaum on the Connection Between Disability and Justice

Abstract

Martha Nussbaum criticizes John Rawls’s theory of justice, arguing that it is responsible for excluding people with disabilities from the political community. In particular, she points out that Rawls’s theory is ultimately a political theory of the “good”, but this good is also inaccessible to people with disabilities, who are not free, equal, and independent. Nussbaum thus proposes her capabilities approach, which should be understood in terms of a minimum threshold of social rights to be recognized for everyone. However, one issue seems to remain unresolved, specifically whether she views people with disabilities as individuals in their own right or as social constructs dependent on her own approach.