Critical Aspects of the Transformation of Work and Welfare from a Capability Perspective

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates the relevance of the capability approach (CA) for critical analyses of welfare states (and vice versa). Without brushing away the insights of critical analyses on welfare (e.g. concerning its function of (re-)producing wage labourers and the reservations about top-down prescriptions of certain social orders), the author argues that a normative approach such as the CA enlarges the evaluative scope of analysis as it starts off with the individual’s options to live the life one has reason to value. The latter reveals the contested character of social policies and raises normative questions concerning the creation and implementation of measures and strategies that can support the freedom of the individual. The author argues that the transition to a knowledge-based economy and the rise of activation policies have put the adaption of abilities and competences of individuals at the centre of political conflicts and debates. The so-called dualisation of welfare systems refers to the fact that retrenchments and reconfigurations tend to affect certain “peripheral” groups (migrants, women, low-skilled people, youth, long-term unemployed, etc.) much more than the so-called “core groups” within social security systems and welfare regimes. This poses a range of questions from a capability-oriented perspective. Through an analysis of the results of the WORKABLE project, the paper highlights emerging ambiguities and modes of operation of dualised welfare systems, whereby transcending a narrow orientation towards the reinstalment of the capitalist work ethic as can be found in the debates about workfare. The paper shows that the WORKABLE research on educational and vocational policies and in-depth case studies on educational programmes concerning labour market transitions in 11 European countries offer a range of insights about the scope and content as well as the relations and interactions between activities for peripheral groups and core routes of education–VET–employment.