Liberty, agency and human capabilities

Abstract

This essays examines the liberal conception of agency from a critical standpoint. We argue that liberalism adopts what is called liberty oriented conception of agency, which is neither adequate nor realistic. This conception of liberalism has become allied to the forces of the neoliberal state and capital. We argue that groups like the Zapatistas, who have rejected the logic of neoliberalism, and its related conception of agency, have been criminalized by the state for these reasons. They have turned to alternative languages of identity and agency to articulate their disputes in a discourse that the state is willing to acknowledge. In the conclusion, we will argue that agency should be understood as operating on a continuum. Agency can be continually increased by amplifying human capabilities given particular social, political and economic contexts. Doing so would mean adopting a far more egalitarian and redistributive approach to politics than the one inspired by the classical liberty oriented conception of agency.