Human Capital, Human Flourishing, and the Moral Desirability of Market Arrangements

Abstract

Markets are widely recognized as sources of material wealth. There is, however, a widely expressed concern that the relationship between markets and human capital is an exploitative one, and the relationship between markets and human flourishing (beyond simply material well-being) is a negative one. We argue, however, that human capital and human flourishing depend on markets in ways that are underappreciated. This essay highlights the positive relationships between markets, human capital, and human flourishing. We first highlight the positive ways that markets foster human capital investments and development and then describe the various ways that markets promote human flourishing. Finally, we introduce Amartya Sen’s capability approach as a plausible and compelling evaluative framework for assessing the moral desirability of certain social arrangements and suggest that markets (on Sen’s terms) are morally desirable social arrangements because they promote human capital development and human flourishing.