The capabilities conception of the individual

This paper advances a capabilities conception of the individual, and
considers some of the problems involved in developing such a conception. It
also makes claims about the nature of the capability space as a whole, frames
personal development in terms of the idea of moving though the capability
space, and argues that people are alike in being increasingly heterogeneous. A
key problem for a capabilities conception of the individual is that some
capabilities, such as belonging to social groups and having social identities, can
undermine individuality. The paper discusses an example in which people can
have social identities but can nonetheless be relatively independent when seen as
self-organizing. Brief comments on one goal of social economic policy as being
identity-promoting conclude the paper.
Keywords: individual conception, capabilities, social identity, self-organization