Key drivers of political capabilities

“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”

– Lord Acton

The economist Amartya Sen introduced the concept of “capabilities” in the 1980s as a way of thinking about human wellbeing that departed from the utilitarian approach which dominates modern economics.

The concept has been developed into what is now widely known as ‘the capability approach’; a framework which accommodates social, economic and political analysis and which holds that the wellbeing of a person ought to be assessed in the space of capabilities.

This concept can be applied to each of main three capabilities which are interesting here: political, economic and military capabilities.