Editorial: ICT and the capability approach

Abstract

founded by econ-omist Amartya Sen and philosopher Martha Nussbaumattaches central importance to individual human capabili-ties. These are the effective freedoms or real opportunitiesof people to achieve valuable ‘beings and doings’ (alsocalled ‘functionings’ by capability theorists). Resources—including technical artifacts—may contribute to theexpansion of one’s capabilities, but there may also be allsorts of ‘conversion factors’ in place that prevent this. Theapproach highlights the ‘multidimensionality’ of well-being and sees people as active agents shaping their ownlives. In 1998 Sen won the Nobel Prize in economics forhis work, which has deeply influenced the United NationsDevelopment Program (UNDP). In the field of develop-ment studies the CA has indeed gained popularity, but thisis not the only area of application.One of the first articles to apply the CA to ICT was—asfar as we know—that of Garnham (1997). ‘‘Thinking ofentitlements in terms of functionings and capabilities’’, hearguedconvincingly,‘‘allows ustogetbehindthe superficialindices of access and usage that we so often use’’ for ICTpolicy purposes. In the last couple of years an increasingnumber of scholars seem to discover the potential of the CAfor deliberations about ICT. For example, Van den HovenandRooksby(2008)acknowledgetheprofoundnessofSen’scritique on the Rawlsian concept of primary goods in theirargument concerning information and distributive justice.And Sen himself has recently (2010) also taken up the topicof ICT, discussing the positive contribution of the mobilephone to the worldwide expansion of human capabilities.Ethics and Information Technology had so far published twoarticles as part of this growing body of literature: a broad,agenda-setting article (Johnstone 2007) and an applicationto the digital divide, more in particular websites ‘missing’ inthe South (Wresch 2009).This special issue now brings together seven new arti-cles on the topic. It contains a mix of theoretical reflectionsand some applications, and the articles are broadly orderedfrom the more abstract to the more concrete. The threearticles that present the most concrete, detailed cases andthat are thus introduced towards the end of this editorial,happen to all focus on ‘ICT for Development’ (ICT4D).Although of great ethical significance, the topics of povertyand development have so far not been covered in muchdetail in this journal, and articles on ICT4D tend to bepublished in specialized journals.