Abstract

The capability approach as a normative approach to wellbeing focuses on the real freedoms of people to choose the life they want to live (Sen, 1999). This approach is regarded as an alternative to the needs-based approach of paternalistic welfare states in Europe and seems to match well with the ambitions of the European Commission ‘to show a more social face’ and the Dutch government to make the participation society work.

The RE-InVEST project1 aimed to both advance theoretical thinking as well as empirical testing of the capability approach. The RE-InVEST philosopher team developed an application of three anthropological roles that a human being can adopt: the doer, the receiver and the judge (Bonvin and Laruffa, 2017a; Bonvin and Laruffa 2017b). We explored this approach among Rotterdam