Is the capability approach compatible with the unconditional basic income?

Abstract

This paper argues that the most effective way to distribute capabilities, as part of a capabilitybased theory of justice, involves the implementation of an unconditional basic income. On the one hand, unconditional access to the means – external conditions – required by capabilities has a positive impact on capabilities’ robustness and security. On the other hand, income, as an external condition, enhances at least three important aspects in the distribution of capabilities: (1) it enhances the multiple realisability of capabilities; (2) it allows for changes across time in the sources of variation that affect the conversion of means into capabilities; and (3) it increases the effectiveness of other external conditions with which income is combined.