the lives of people elsewhere – making their inputs indispensable. Therefore, a
universalistic approach to Social Choice based on “open impartiality” enables a
discussion about global justice that would not be possible in Rawls’s Contractual
approach (Sen, 2009:6).
However, the fundamental premises of Sen’s reasoning have been proven
to be susceptible to criticism. The lack of a substantive account of justice that
specifically states the minimum requirements of a standard of justice and clear
procedures undermines its applicability (Srinivasan, 2007). While criticizing
Rawls for not accounting sufficiently for real-life manifestations of injustice, it
has been argued that Sen’s approach equally fails to provide principles that allow
the assessment and enforcement of justice. Ethical judgments are often made
intuitively, but since people’s reasoning can be dubious and divergent, and not
all assessments of justice can be deemed “obvious” or clear, Sen’s formulation
fails to provide an ultimate solution (Valentini, 2011). Even though Sen clearly
states that his goals are comparative and not to define justice in absolute terms,
it is reasonable to question whether that is enough to actually guide policies and
to advise the application of justice in real situations. Nonetheless, Sen’s overall
goal to widen the understanding of justice is accomplished (Chris, 2010).
The informational focus in analyses of justice typically concentrates purely
on economic criteria, while the capability approach advocated by Sen demands
a shift to a freedom-oriented approach. Wealth alone is not a solid indicator of
the type of life someone can achieve. The capability approach demands a more
complete evaluation of substantive freedom, concentrating on actual
opportunities to investigate disadvantages and inequality. Additionally, income
only has a purely instrumental value, so a direct assessment of the real
opportunities people have to pursue what they have reason to value would be
more precise (Sen, 2009:11). The relationship between income and the
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