Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
13.1 Introduction
In this chapter, the capability approach as proposed by Martha Nussbaum
and Amartya Sen is used for analyzing government strategies for nano-
technology development in a number of Latin American countries, includ-
ing Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. The intention is to contribute to deeper
insights on sustainable development of nanotechnology beyond the often-
cited Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the United Nations (UN
General Assembly 2000).
In the current debate on nanotechnology for sustainable development, the
UN MDG play a key role in selecting relevant nanotechnologies and applica-
tions that may contribute to halving poverty in the world by 2015. Such applica-
tions include nanofood, sustainable energy, water purification and desalination,
environmental technologies, and nanomedicine (e.g., Mnyusiwalla et al. 2003;
Salamanca-Buentello et al. 2005; Meridian Institute, 2004, 2007; Malsch 2005).
This discussion of nanotechnology for the poor is complemented by a broader
debate on strategic implications of nanotechnology and its applications for the
socioeconomic development of less developed countries. In this debate on the
nano-divide,* issues like these have been discussed by the Meridian Institute,
the ETC group, and Foladori and Invernissi:
• Implications of nanotechnology for resource efficiency and the
world market for commodities
• Intellectual property rights of nanotechnology-based inventions
• The balance between who reaps the benefits and who carries the
risks
The current debate on nanotechnology for development has been summa-
rized by Malsch (2008b).
In the area of political philosophy, Amartya Sen (1985, 1999, 2009), Nussbaum
and Sen (1993) and Martha Nussbaum (2006) have developed the capability
approach as a conceptual framework for evaluating how governments con-
tribute to human wellbeing. The capability approach is based on John Rawls'
Theory of Justice (1999). In this chapter, the conceptual framework will be
introduced by discussing relevant elements of Rawls' theory and the con-
tributions and adaptations made by Sen and Nussbaum. Nussbaum (2006)
divides the capability approach into 10 capabilities: life; bodily health; bodily
integrity; senses, imagination, and thought; emotions; practical reason; affili-
ation; other species; play; and control over one's environment.
The capability approach has been applied in political philosophy and eco-
nomics. Anand and colleagues (2008) have developed indicators to measure
* The nano-divide is a technology gap between countries or individuals with access to nano-
technology and those without it.
 
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