This volume investigates the conceptual validity and practical application of the capabilities approach as a framework for defining egalitarian justice. Edited by Kaufman, the text compiles original essays from prominent scholars who evaluate the theory's structural integrity against contemporary critiques. The contributors analyze whether the capabilities approach successfully addresses the foundational questions of what individuals owe one another in a just society.

Experts identify this collection as a significant contribution to ongoing debates in political philosophy and ethics. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, making it a resource primarily intended for scholars and advanced students of justice theory.