Introduction

This chapter explores the potential for linking the economic notion of ‘capability’ to the juridical concept of social rights. The notion of capability which was developed first by Lancaster (1966) and then Sen (1985, 1999) in the context of welfare economics, has more recently come to prominence in the debate over European social and economic policy, as a result of its use in the Supiot report on the transformation of work and employment relations (Salais 1999; Supiot 1999). We will argue here that the particular importance of the capability concept lies in its potential to clarify the relationship between social rights and the market order, as expressed in the discourse of European integration.

We begin by revisiting T. H. Marshall's classic analysis of social rights and their ambiguous relationship to the market (Marshall [1949] 1992). We then introduce Sen's capability approach and discuss how far it provides a framework for locating social rights within a market setting. We argue that Sen's non-dogmatic, context-oriented approach to defining the meaning of capabilities offers a viable way forward for thinking about the current tension between market rights and social rights in the European Union. This argument is illustrated by reference to the role played by mechanisms of corporate social responsibility in promoting gender equality.

Social rights

‘Social rights’ are usually understood as claims on resources in the form of income, services or employment. In T. H. Marshall's classic and still influential formulation, social rights were distinguished from ‘civil’ and ‘political’ rights.