Alexander (economics and ethics, U. of Leuven, Belgium) develops a systematic philosophical study of the capability approach to quality of life issues as advocated by contemporary thinkers Sen and Nussbaum, focusing particularly on those claims and characteristics used to justify it as an approach to social justice. He also shows how the capability approach offers resources for criticizing the liberal concept of justice, thus challenging the tendency he sees to drawing the capability approach exclusively within a liberal paradigm. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)