Developing the global North: social–ecological justice, post-capitalist aspirations, and the politics of capabilities

The concept of development is usually applied to the global South. Yet the capitalist, growth-based socioeconomic paradigm of ‘developed’ countries is both ecologically destructive and socially unjust. Can we formulate alternative – emancipatory and sustainable – visions of progress? In this article, I apply the concept of development exclusively to the global North – even if out of an explicit concern for global social–ecological justice – offering a radical reading of Amartya Sen’s capability approach. Emphasizing justice, real freedom and human flourishment, the capability approach potentially constitutes a valuable framework for theorizing emancipatory social–ecological transformations. However, dominant interpretations of this approach often consider capitalist growth positively – albeit as a means for capability-expansion. I propose a post-growth/post-capitalist interpretation of the capability approach, which – through the politicization of individual and collective aspirations – calls for the subordination of the economy to democratically defined social–ecological needs. In this understanding, the capability to care for people and planet becomes central.